Living like A Worm by Martin Wiles

When I think like a worm, I’ll live like a worm.

Metamorphosis is an amazing process wherein a worm is transformed into a beautiful butterfly. Worms don’t impress me. They crawl around, they’re often slimy to the touch, and they can’t leave whatever they happened to be attached to at the moment unless they are falling through the air. But a butterfly? They’re different. Marked by a variety of dazzling colors, they flit through the air doing what butterflies do…amaze people in general—particularly those who study them, and support the pollination process. 

According to God’s Word, I’m a butterfly, but it’s possible for me to behave like a worm. Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven…Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3 NLT)

Suppose I’m a slave. I’ll look like a slave and act like a slave because I am a slave. But imagine my master brings me in one day and says, “You’re not going to be a slave any longer. I’m going to make you my son.” Immediately my position changes. I’m a slave no longer. I can dress better, and I should act differently. Menial tasks would disappear. My self-esteem should rise, and now I’ll have the respect of others.

Such is what God has done. He’s taken a slave with a master named sin and made me a son. Since my identity has changed, so should my behavior because identity affects behavior. If I still consider myself a sinner, I’ll live a defeated life, thinking I have no power over my old master. But when I realize the resurrection power of Christ lives in me, I’ll adopt the self-analysis the bible assigns me: saint. Changed thinking results in altered behavior. I can’t live the Christian life in my own power, but I can with Christ in me. 

Are you living like a worm when you should be flying freely like a butterfly?

Prayer: Merciful Lord, enable us to accept our identity in You so that we can effectively live out our character. 

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