The Cost of Discipleship 5

 We marvel at the transformation of a butterfly, at least I do. An adult female butterfly carefully lays eggs on a particular plant. For example, the monarch butterfly lays her eggs on a milkweed plant because that is their favorite food. The egg matures and then the larva emerges. It is a caterpillar, and its job is to eat and eat. When it has done its job, the caterpillar curls up, spins some web fibers to attach itself on the underside of a milkweed branch, and hardens into a pupa, a chrysalis with a hard shell. 

 What happens inside is an amazing metamorphosis. The caterpillar turns into a mushy fluid, and a radical transformation occurs as it becomes a butterfly. Finally, at the right time, the butterfly breaks out. However, it is not quite ready to fly. Its wings are curled up from being in a tight spot in the chrysalis, so it sits and pumps fluid into the wings, slowly unfolding them into the beautiful sight we see. 

 Interestingly, the struggle to break out of the chrysalis and the patience to pump fluid into its wings makes them strong. These are essential steps in the process of becoming mature. Then the butterfly flies away to carry out its purpose in life; the production of the next generation. 

 There is a lot of talk in the New Testament about the transformation of sinners into disciples of Christ. Of course, the analogy with butterflies can only go so far, but we can learn a few things. 

 Related to the word metamorphosis, various passages say that, to begin our new life in Christ, we sinners must ‘repent’. That is the translation for the Greek word metanoia, which means ‘to change one’s mind’. But it can mean not only to decide to do something else or buy something else, but also to change one’s mindset or worldview, that is, to change how one looks at the world. In this way, it is a metamorphosis, a change in our perception. 

 Becoming a disciple of Christ will change how you see the world and what you think of the people you know and the people you see on the streets. It is a struggle to identify the biases of your old worldview, the customs and culture that you were taught as you grew up, and it takes patience to admit your biases and change them into appreciation, a change that requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For example, if you are a white reader, then how long has it taken and how far have you come in your attitude toward African-Americans or other ethnic groups? A human point of view is a learned point of view. It is not innate (built in), nor is it just 'telling it like it is' (reality). Rather it is 'telling it like you interpret it'. Biased points of view must be identified and reshaped to fit God's point of view. 

 As Paul says, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view…” (II Corinthians 5: 16a).

 Becoming a disciple of Christ will even change your view of Jesus himself. Early on, we tend to settle for a one-dimensional Jesus. It takes a lot of reading of the Bible and a lot of experience out there in the world to develop a more complex and thus more realistic view of Jesus. Is he our Savior? Yes, but he is also a sage, a wise teller of stories and debater with his detractors. Is he the Son of God? Yes, but also fully human and thus given to grief (Jesus wept) and anger (Jesus threw the merchants out of the temple). Was Jesus a man of faith? Yes, but also one who asked God to let the cup of wrath pass from him (in the Garden of Gethsemane). Jesus is more complete, more complex, more loving, and more demanding as we get to know him better.

 “...even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way” (II Corinthians 5: 16b).

 Does becoming a disciple require a radical transformation? Yes, because, in Christ, everything becomes in us and around us. Not just us, but everything. 

    “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!” (II Corinthians 5: 17).

 There is some debate over how to translate the Greek here. Is ‘there’ a new creation, or is ‘that person’ a new creation? Notice that our version, the New Revised Standard Version, says ‘there is a new creation’, but has a footnote to cite the variant translation. 

 This leaves open the possibility that Paul had something more expansive in mind than just that we are changed. In addition, our whole world changes, as the rest of the verse seems to suggest. We no longer look at Jesus, nor people, nor the environment the same as we did before. “New things have come into being,” there is a new reality. God tells it like it is.

 The new reality means that we approach the world not as an enemy or something to be conquered, but as people and things to be loved and to be reconciled to God. 

 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us” (II Corinthians 5: 18-19). 

 As we mature, we become aware that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation because we carry within our life story the message of reconciliation. Neither of those apply only to the person who stands in the pulpit. When the bell rings, who has the message of reconciliation and who will carry out that ministry? Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for you.