From the caterpillar to the butterfly

A small caterpillar moves forward with difficulty. It stretches upwards because it wants to reach the slightly higher leaves because they are more tasty. Then she discovers a butterfly sitting on a flower that can be rocked back and forth by the wind. He is beautiful and colorful. She watches him fly from flower to flower. She calls out to him a bit enviously: «You lucky, you fly from flower to flower, shine in wonderful colors and can fly towards the sun while I have to struggle here, with my many feet and can only crawl on earth. I can't get to the beautiful flowers, the delicious leaves and my dress is pretty colorless, how is life unfair! »

The butterfly feels a little pity for the caterpillar and consoles it: «You can also become like me, maybe with much nicer colors. Then you no longer have to struggle ». The caterpillar asks: "How did you do it, what happened that you changed so much?" The butterfly replies: «I was a caterpillar like you. One day I heard a voice that said to me: Now the time has come for me to change you. Follow me and I will bring you into a new phase of life, I will take care of your food and step by step I will change you. Trust me and persevere, then you will be a completely new being in the end. The darkness in which you are now moving will lead you into the light and fly towards the sun ».

This little story is a wonderful comparison that shows us God's plan for us humans. The caterpillar resembles our life before we knew God. It is the time when God begins to work in us, to change us step by step until pupation and metamorphosis to the butterfly. A time when God nourishes us spiritually and physically and shapes us so that we can achieve the goal He has set for us.
There are many passages in the Bible about the new life in Christ, but we focus on what Jesus wants to tell us in the Beatitudes. Let's look at how God works with us and how He changes us more and more into a new person.

The spiritually poor

Our poverty is spiritual, and we desperately need his help. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5,3)Here Jesus begins to show us how much we need God. Only through his love can we recognize this need. What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? It is a kind of humility in which a person recognizes how poor they are before God. They discover how impossible it is for them to repent of their sins, to put them aside on their own, and to control their emotions. Such a person knows that everything comes from God, and they will humble themselves before God. They want to accept the new life that God gives them in his grace with joy and gratitude. Because we, as natural, carnal beings, are prone to sin, we will often stumble, but God will always lift us up again. Often we don't realize that we are poor in spirit.

The opposite of spiritual poverty is to be proud in spirit. We see this fundamental attitude in the Pharisee's prayer: "God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, unjust, adulterers—or even like this tax collector." (Lk 18,11)Then Jesus shows us the example of a man who is poor in spirit, through the tax collector's prayer: "God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"

The poor in spirit know that they are helpless. They know that their righteousness is only borrowed and they are dependent on God. To be spiritually poor is the first step that shapes us in the new life in Jesus, in a transformation into a new person.

Jesus Christ was an example of dependence on the Father. Jesus said of himself: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing of his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” (Joh 5,19)This is the mindset of Christ that God wants to form in us.

Bear the suffering

People with broken hearts are rarely arrogant; they are open to whatever God wants to do through them. What does a downcast person need? "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Mt 5,4)He needs comfort, and the Comforter is the Holy Spirit. A broken heart is the key for God's Spirit to work in us. Jesus knows what he's talking about: He was a man who knew sorrow and suffering more than any of us. His life and his attitude show us that a broken heart, under God's guidance, can lead us to perfection. Unfortunately, we often react bitterly and accuse God when we suffer and God seems far away. This is not the attitude of Christ. God's purpose in difficult situations shows us that He has spiritual blessings in store for us.

The meek

God has a plan for each of us. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Mt 5,5)The goal of this blessing is the willingness to surrender ourselves willingly to God. When we surrender to Him, He gives us the strength to do so. In submission, we learn that we need one another. Humility helps us to recognize each other's needs. We find a wonderful statement where He invites us to lay our burdens before Him: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." (Mt 11,29)What a God, what a King! How far we are from his perfection! Humility, gentleness, and modesty are qualities that God wants to cultivate in us.

Let's briefly recall how Jesus was publicly insulted when he visited Simon the Pharisee. He wasn't greeted, his feet weren't washed. How did he react? He wasn't offended, he didn't defend himself, he endured it. And when he later pointed it out to Simon, he did so with complete humility. (Lk 7, 44-47)Why is humility so important to God? Why does he love the humble? Because it reflects the attitude of Christ. We, too, love people with this quality.

Hunger for justice

Our human nature seeks its own justice. When we recognize our urgent need for justice, God grants us his righteousness through Jesus: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Mt 5,6)God credits us with the righteousness of Jesus, for we cannot stand before Him. The phrase "hunger and thirst" points to an acute and conscious need within us. Longing is a powerful emotion. God wants us to align our hearts and desires with His will. God loves the needy, widows and orphans, prisoners and strangers in the land. Our need is the key to God's heart; He desires to provide for our needs. It is a blessing for us to recognize this need and allow Jesus to satisfy it.
In the first four beatitudes, Jesus shows how much we need God. In this phase of the transformation "pupation" we recognize our need and dependence on God. This process increases and in the end we will feel a deep longing for closeness to Jesus. The next four beatitudes show Jesus' work in us outwardly.

The merciful

When we practice mercy, people see something of the mind of Christ in us. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Mt 5,7)Through Jesus we learn to be merciful because we recognize human need. We develop compassion and empathy, and we care for our neighbors. We learn to forgive those who wrong us. We share the love of Christ with our fellow human beings.

Have a pure heart

A pure heart is Christ-centered. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Mt 5,8)Our devotion to our family and friends is guided by God and by our love for Him. When our heart turns more to earthly things than to God, it separates us from Him. Jesus gave himself completely to the Father. We should strive for this and give ourselves completely to Jesus.

Make peace

God desires reconciliation, unity with him and in the body of Christ. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Mt 5,9)Often, Christian communities are plagued by disunity, fear of competition, fear of losing members, and financial worries. God wants us to build bridges, especially within the body of Christ: “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one even as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Joh 17,21–23).

That are being followed

Jesus prophesied to his followers: “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” (Joh15,20)People will treat us the way they treated Jesus.
Here, an extra blessing is mentioned for those who are persecuted for doing God's will: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 5,10).

Through Jesus Christ, we already live in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, because we have our identity in him. All the Beatitudes lead to this goal. At the end of the Beatitudes, Jesus comforts people and gives them hope: “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5,12).

In the last four beatitudes, we are the givers, we work externally. God loves the givers. He is the greatest giver of all. He continues to give us what we need, spiritually and materially. Our senses are directed to others here. We should reflect the nature of Christ.
The body of Christ begins to really bind when its members recognize that they should support each other. Those who are hungry and thirsty need spiritual nourishment. In this phase God intends to recognize longing for him and for our neighbor through our living conditions.

The metamorphosis

Before we can lead others to God, Jesus establishes a very intimate relationship with him through us. Through us, God reveals his mercy, purity, and peace to those around us. In the first four Beatitudes, God works within us. In the following four Beatitudes, God works through us outwardly. The inner self harmonizes with the outer self. In this way, he gradually forms the new person within us. God has given us a new life through Jesus. It is our task to allow this spiritual transformation to take place within us. Jesus makes this possible. Peter warns us: “If all these things are thus lost, what kind of holy and godly conduct must you have?” (2. Petr 3,11).

We are now in the phase of joy, a small foretaste of the joy that still awaits us. Like the butterfly flying towards the sun, we will then encounter Jesus Christ: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and are left shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord.” (1. Thess 4,16-17).

by Christine Joosten