From glory to glory
From glory to glory – what does that mean exactly? I’ll get to that in just a second.
During my life I have witnessed first hand, as I’m sure many of you have, too, the life stages of a butterfly. From eggs, to larva, to caterpillar, to butterfly. It’s a wonderful process of creation and transformation. And, except for the those that migrate and overwinter in Mexico, their lives are very short lived… as in weeks. So, their transformation process happens rapidly compared to humans.
In the summer after bird migration and our zinnias begin to bloom, I turn some of my attention to butterflies in the backyard. (I have hundreds of them in their own gallery and in my monthly blog posts) We’re blessed to have several varieties come through our area. And I must admit pipevine swallowtails are among my favorite. Their iridescent blues are wonderful!
This summer, in particular, I challenged myself with a project. I wanted to create a series of metaphors showing the transformation of a sanctified life. (Sanctified simply means set apart for God, or to become more like him.) Now, I’m no theologian so don’t get your shorts in a bunch. However, from scripture we know that salvation is a one time thing. But, sanctification is a life long process. Here’s what the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.”
Therefore, from the moment we’ve been redeemed (welcomed Christ into our lives) we are on a journey with the Holy Spirit who is working in us to bring about a transformation that molds us into the likeness of Jesus. But, that transformation won’t be complete until we reach our eternal home in heaven. To sum it up… we’re a work in progress!
None of us have completely arrived in this life – none! But we can keep moving forward – together – from glory to glory.
Now for the images. I chose to use the clouded sulfur butterfly for my subject as they don’t have all of the markings and colors that monarchs and other butterflies have. (There is one cabbage white butterfly) The images at the bottom of the page represent our life before Christ. All of the “old color” (habits) is still there. Upon redemption, as you move up the gallery, I removed the yellow coloring little by little to represent the spirit creating change within as his light begins to shine through and remove some of the old habits (color). And, hopefully, that light continues to shine through our lives and into others until one day, when we take our last breath, we are forever changed from glory to eternal glory as witnessed in the first image.
Friend, I don’t know about you, but I know I’m not the man I used to be. However, I have quite a ways to go to be the man I want to be!
