Butterfly part 2
Maybe I should have called this Rant series "Wings." Because in the Scripture there are lots of pictures of birds, and wings. I called it butterfly, because of the effect a butterfly fluttering it's wings can have. And because that's how the Spirit brooded over us in the beginning when we were void and without form. The Spirit fluttered... and then in the fulness of time the Spirit came with the sound of a great rushing wind. The smallest thing can have the biggest impact. In the beginning we didn't know who we were. Because we didn't know who God was. Because it was dark and we couldn't see clearly. So even though God was with us--of course He was, where else would He be?--we didn't KNOW He was with us. And then, worse yet, after what is commonly refered to as "the fall" we HID from His Spirit. Because we thought our disobedience would lead to Daddy getting mad at us and punishing us. This really wasn't the case though. God didn't say, "If you eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil I'll get mad and punish you." He said, "But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eastest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). It wasn't an ultimatum. It was a warning. God didn't want us to die, so He didn't want us to eat of the tree of death. Death wasn't God's punishment. It was the natural consequence of eating from the wrong tree! What does this have to do with the butterfly? I'm simply pointing out that our decisions didn't--COULDN'T--undo God's plan. In fact, He didn't even say IF you eat of it. He said, "...in the day that thou eatest..." And there's a lot to be said about the DAY. The day of the Lord vs the day of man. Jesus, the Sabbath day, the day of rest. Knowledge of good and evil as a basis for trying to earn something through human effort being the WRONG day. But I want to focus on the truth that God didn't say "if." He said, "when." It didn't sneak up on Him. In fact, I believe it was PART of the plan. You can't have a redemption story without something to redeem. And you can't make an informed decision until you've seen both sides. Experienced both days, if I can say it that way. See, even when man hid from God's presence, God didn't leave. God's Spirit was brooding over us. And THAT phrasing makes me think of a chicken brooding over her hens. Wings, right? Look at Psalm 57:1, "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." Hiding in the shadow of His wings until HE cleans up the mess WE made. Guys... that's what the cross was. That's when the fluttering of the wings became the wind of the Holy Spirit. The wind in Song of Solomon that unlocks the secret garden and blows all of the goodness that's inside all over the place! Here's what I think I'm trying to say: It's not about what YOU did. It's about what HE did. In the very beginning. When the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. When, on the cross, that sacrifice was manifested in it's fulness and everything came into completion. When the light of the world shined and instead of being under the power of darkness we could finally see. See who GOD is (and He's love), and see who WE are (we are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased). The Holy Spirit is our love receptor. It makes the love of God--which seems too good to be true--so good that is must be true! And much to good to keep to ourselves! So then we begin to flap OUR wings, and receive and release that which we've been given! We are loved... so then we love!