Grace from Heaven…

Oh happy day… GOT SNOW?

I love snow. Frosty diamonds glittering delight; a bit of grace come down from heaven. Yay God. What a wonderful and marvelous concept.

Well, it’s obvious, I don’t live in a cold place where snow is the norm rather than the exception. Although as beautiful as it is, spring is my favorite season and with it, come butterflies… fluttering butterflies;
Flutterby’s, as my little girlies used to say. Tender and fragile, little Flutterbys that flit, float and fan a kaleidoscope of colors.

We would not think them so beautiful if they hid under slimy rocks or if they did not fly, or if they flew straight and briskly like bees, or if they stung, or if they did not fan, flutter and flirt like the long wispy lashes of pleading 3 year old girlies.

The last few posts have been about transformation i.e. metamorphosis. Romans 12: 1-2 says,
“So then, my friends, because of God’s great (and exceeding active compassion) to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you (morph and change you) inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect”.

Metamorphosis- means to put on another form or become a new creature. Another way to define metamorphosis is transfigured: This word is rarely used in the bible e.g. just 3 other times. See for yourself…

“Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed” (Mark 9:2).

“There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. His face was shining like the sun, and his clothes became white as light”(Matthew 17:2).

“As all of us reflect the Lord’s glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Have you ever thought of yourself as a butterfly?

It is easy for us to believe Christ as a big magnificent butterfly, transformed from human flesh to shekinah glory as in the 2 Corinthians verse, but for us, not so much. We still think of ourselves as that worm endlessly struggling to be free of old flesh waiting… endlessly waiting for skin to split and to wiggle out completely emerging from the chrysalis cocoon… transformed, made anew into a delicate and graceful butterfly…fanning endless praise to God.

But our perception is wrong and skewed. We don’t have to wait to go to heaven to soar as a butterfly. 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us, we can be that butterfly now. The verb tense is present, not future or past. Christ came to transform; morph; change; and transfigure, yes, transfigure, even us. We know this is true. Mere men can be transfigured, enlightened by the Spirit of God, and converted to Christ: with open face as Moses, the object beheld and the glory unveiled. We read about the transfiguration over and over in the stories of the apostles and of Paul, who were like us, insignificant threads yet woven into Gods gospel tapestry and yes, they were changed from glory to glory. It is not a transfiguration from the glory of the law to the glory of the Gospel; or from the glory of Moses to the glory of Christ; rather we are transfigured from the glory that is in Christ, God in flesh, to a glory derived in believers from him; or from one degree of grace to another. Grace is the transforming work, changing us from glory to glory; glory begun here on earth to glory perfected hereafter; when this image will be completed, both in soul and body at death.

And yet, it is the glorious work of grace that alludes us, because we don’t take hold of it, while we live. If it is Christ that takes off the veil from the heart, so that we may, with open face unveiled, behold His glory. And, if it is Christ that regenerates, stamps his image and conforms our soul to his likeness; and if it is Christ that gradually carries on the work of grace upon our hearts, increasing our faith, and radiating the spiritual light, knowledge, to our experiences guiding them towards perfection, then it IS Christ, the same who quickens us towards his likeness, both in soul and body. All this, before death. You may be thinking, well that’s a lot of theology… and so what? What are you trying to say?

Basically, Christ reveals Himself to all who desire after Him and when we do, we receive His grace. This changes us. We are changed by His grace, desiring what He desires which is for others to desire him too. So you see, we can be transfigured from glory to glory and from grace to grace, long before heaven.

Thank you God for loving and desiring me. Thank you for your grace. Transfigure me into a worker of your harvest and when suffering comes, help me to desire you even more.