Transformers 3

It's the middle of winter and all around our Papatoetoe Community Church building are hundreds of acorns lying on the ground. They would be a great source of food for squirrels if we had any living in New Zealand...but we don't. I miss them! I showed an acorn to the Wednesday Community Gathering and asked them what it was. Of course they knew, it's easily recognisable. But when I asked what was contained within, the best answer was a nut. That's true, but hidden within the acorn is everything required for a great oak tree.

The sprout from an acorn to an oak tree is instant but the time taken to grow the tree is very long. With a caterpillar, the transformation to a butterfly is much faster but just as remarkable.

So many things nature can tell us about God if we'll pay attention, I'll give you two!

The first is that God's design is that we reap what we sow. If I plant an acorn, I'll get an oak tree. The Bible teaches us that if we sow sin, we'll reap Death. But if we'll sow the things of the Spirit, we'll get Life. You can identify the work of the Spirit in someone's life very easily, just look for some or all of the nine fruit described in Galatians 5:22-23

The second is that something has to happen to change the acorn to an oak tree. If I leave an acorn on a table, it stays the same forever. The oak tree is in the DNA of the acorn but a transformation has to take place. That is the germination of the seed and there are three things required for that - Oxygen, (the right) Temperature and Water.

God has designed everything and everyone for a purpose. We all contain within us remarkable Spiritual DNA to make us unimaginably different and beautiful from what we are but a transformation has to take place. What changes a person from the natural to the supernatural Life is God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Three again!

That is why we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that "When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun." If you know someone who has become a Christian, the transformation to the new life is instant. The person is "Born Again". What's more, the final result will be amazing and beautiful and unimaginably different. Quite often you hear a story of some person whose life was instantly transformed when they put their faith in Christ. But for others the change is not so fast.

If you are a believer, be patient, for the growth to the final result can take a short time like a caterpillar to a butterfly but it can also take a long time as an acorn to an oak tree : )