After The Work

There is a clear difference between the caterpillar and the butterfly they eventually become. The various species of caterpillars spin a cocoon and undergo metamorphosis, changing into a butterfly with wings that can reach the skies in a way a worm can only dream of. There is no going back to a caterpillar, it is forever changed.

Experiencing forgiveness can feel the same way; we are changed. The forgiveness we experience with God is accepting the radical proposition that you are loved, no matter your mistakes. Often our mistakes we have lived with for years may have been a poor coping mechanism from wounds from long ago. Our forgiveness is linked to our hurts especially when we learn that God’s love heals our deepest hurts.

For example, a man drinks in excess calm his nervous disposition he developed when he experienced extreme bullying at a young age. Trauma and addiction are often linked, even though we are responsible for our means by which we cope, we feel like we cannot help what we do and often don’t understand why. The subject is too complex to explore in a mediation, thus it is wise to discuss this with a counselor or therapist.

What we can glean from the healing we experience from God’s forgiveness is that we are changed. We experience Grace unimaginable and a Love that knows no bounds. Getting in touch with the God of the Universe through Christ leaves us metamorphosed. Like the butterfly, we cannot go back to our old ways of coping, though try as we might it will never be the same.

We see this when Jesus called the chief tax collector Zaccehaeus in Luke 19: But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Zacchaeus was changed by his encounter with Christ. He felt the radical love and acceptance of Jesus and was transformed.

We cannot go back to caterpillars after we have been healed by the Divine. We feel compelled to live differently as the result; we want to make things right. The old word for this feeling is penance. We do not just live healthier lives making better choices, but we want to make right what hurts we may have caused in our brokenness. Zacchaeus paid back “four times the amount” he stole from his crooked dealings with the poor. He committed himself to making his world better.

Perhaps you have been hurt and you have lived in “survival mode” for years. Perhaps your choices led to people being hurt in ways you now deeply regret. Live as a butterfly and soar above your old ways. Look for ways to make things right. Give back to others in the areas you may have hurt others. Do good and try not to get caught doing so, giving of yourself in ways only God can see. You will be fed spiritual food you never knew you hungered for.

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