Thought for the Day - Tuesday, 28 April

Thought for the Day – Tuesday 28^th April

When we were out for our daily walk yesterday we were almost back to the busy main road down to the manse when suddenly Graham stopped me in my tracks and directed me to my feet – no not to avoid the multitudinous amount of litter or dog mess in our community - but rather to point out a very hairy black caterpillar with a red head inching its way slowly across the road in front of me. It was making its way to the grassy verge, actually taking its life in its hands because although it was on what we would term a back road from Newarthill, nonetheless it was a busy road yesterday with many cars and, of course, us walking along!  As I saw it inching its way along it made me think of the Burl Ives song ‘The Ugly Bug Ball’ with its chorus of ‘Come on let's crawl, Gotta crawl, gotta crawl, To the ugly bug ball To the ball, to the ball And a happy time we'll have there One and all! At the ugly bug ball.’ (I bet you are all singing it now!)


Anyway, it made me reflect on what that ugly bug – although really it wasn’t ugly, it was just quite beautiful as it was - might turn into! It may have been clothed in black hairy prickles so it could avoid its predators but soon it would clothe itself in a beautiful cocoon then re-create itself and emerge beautifully clothed as probably a moth, rather than a butterfly.

Reflecting on that little caterpillar I experienced yesterday made me think of words from Colossians 3: 10 where it says ‘you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.’ And that’s exactly what that little caterpillar will do – strip off its old self and be recreated as a new self in the image its creator has planned for it.

When it comes to us stripping off the old self with its practices we are told in Colossians 3: 12-17 exactly what we should clothe ourselves with in order to be that new self; renewed according to the image of our creator. We are told:

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

So, we are to clothe ourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with each other, forgiving each other and above all clothe ourselves in love which binds all of these other ‘clothes’ together. However, it does not end there for we are also to heed Jesus – God’s word and let him live in us, be peaceable of heart and thankful to God and full of praise!

I think if we wear all these ‘clothes’ our new self will be just as beautiful as whatever God transforms that little caterpillar into!

Prayer

Loving Lord, during these days when we have much time on our hands, encourage us to take some of that time to reflect not just on the well-being of our neighbours but also on our own well-being. May we sense how you would wish to clothe us, may we strip off those practices which prevent us from fully emerging as you would wish us to be and as we let the ‘Word’ dwell in our hearts may we experience peace and be ever thankful and full of praise to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.