A Bug's Life

This time of year, the song of the cicada fills the air. I posted this awhile ago, but thought of it this morning as I picked up a cicada still in its shell and placed it on a tree where it would have a chance.


"You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world..." Ephesians 2:1.

I was looking at a cicada still in its shell, walking around on my neighbor's shirt. Before it started to move, I thought it was actually dead, one of the leftover shells. Then it started to move. I was reminded of this scripture because I used to be dead, then I started to move. Not dead like in the ground, but dead in that I had no hope. I was very caught up in this world, the fears, the temptations, the emptiness of it all, never quite feeling complete but not knowing how to get there. To anyone who looked at me, I looked very much alive. And depending on which side of the fence you were on, I might have even looked happy.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..." Ephesians 2:4

But God...these are two really important words. But God...can take that which was dead, hopeless, empty, and breathe new life into it. Into me. By nothing I did either, except accepting it. The word mercy means kindness to one undeserving. It has nothing to do with cleaning up our act first, it is all about recognizing where we are...lost...and following the Only One who can lead us home. But God...is a God of transformation. He can take something with a hard shell and give it wings to fly and a song to sing.