Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
I awoke this morning thinking about my flesh, my worm...that Jesus felt like a worm (and was a worm?), as foreseen by David written by him in Psalm 22:
Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
It got me pondering about this passage:
Mar 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Mar 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Mar 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Mar 9:48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
What is my worm...was Jesus a worm too? I thought of butterflies. A butterfly starts out as a caterpillar, a worm. It has to die in a chrysalis in order to be a butterfly. If the worm doesn't die, it won't be a butterfly. That transformation is miraculous. A worm does not die and become a butterfly by willing it to be so, it is surrendering to something that causes it to be so.
The worm in the picture above is kinda cute...and maybe I imagine "my worm" that way, kinda cute and loved by God...kinda reminds me of this guy (from the movie "Labyrinth"):
and in the movie, this little guy strikes me as an old fella, one that decided to pass on becoming a butterfly ...but to get back to topic, my worm is something terrible and offensive to God. I might want to imagine that it is cute and cuddly and inoffensive and having something that is redeemable in it. But God in His word says it is terribly wicked and needs to be killed, it needs to die, and be transformed into a NEW CREATION. Something completely new and whole. Something as different as a butterfly has absolutely no resemblance to the old caterpillar that it was before.
I've been noticing lately what a struggle my flesh puts up. It does not want to let go. It wants supremacy. It wants me to be noticed and get credit for my just due....but my just due is hell. That is what my flesh deserves. Do I want my worm to keep living? Do I want to get what my glorying in myself deserves? Or do I want that worm, that flesh, to die?
Lord, I know I cannot make it happen, only you have that power to perform such a miraculous thing. I pray that you will cause my worm surrender to You. Make my worm to die, so that the fire is quenched and my soul refreshed in You.
Some other previous posts about butterflies:
http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-flutterby.html
http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.com/2011/03/fragility-and-strength.html
http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.com/2011/03/sinister-side-of-butterflies.html
http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.com/2011/04/sinister-side-of-butterflies-ii-monarch.html
http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.com/2011/05/sinister-side-of-butterflies-iii.html#comment-form
