Growing Like Grasshoppers

Post #34

2 Peter 3:18 says “But GROW in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.

Ephesians 4:21-25 says “if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you PUT OFF, concerning your former conduct, THE OLD MAN
which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you PUT ON THE NEW MAN which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness”.

The scriptures say we should grow spiritually to be like Jesus and at the same time we should put off our old ways of thinking and behaving.

The process reminds me of how some creatures grow such as snakes and grasshoppers. They have to shed their skins in order to allow their bodies to grow. The grasshopper sheds its skin, which is also its skeleton, and then it inhales a lot of air to puff up its soft body – (according to Wikipedia). After this the surface of its body hardens in the sunshine into a new exoskelelton. This process is repeated until the grasshopper reaches its full size.

The shedding of skin is analogous to our putting off the old man. The puffing up of the grasshopper’s body by drawing air in is akin to the Holy Spirit causing us to grow spiritually to become more like Jesus – little by little.　We tend to grow in spurts as well.

The conversion of caterpillars to butterflies is another example of change that comes to mind.

Could God have set up better metaphors or analogies to illustrate our conversion and growth process? Our growth takes place by God’s power.