The Butterfly Virus

I met with a buddy of mine in Orlando last week and he said something as we were finishing that has been stuck in my mind ever since then. I figured if I blogged about it maybe it would get stuck in cyberspace and out of my mind. He said something to the effect of discipling was like an infection. I've been captured ever since.

What an amazing concept, discipling (leading others to follow Jesus) is like an infection. I think he said something about a staph infection, but I'm going in a slightly different direction. While I was in my shower one morning this week (which is one of my favorite places to talk with God) this idea was still nagging at me and I decided to call it the Butterfly Virus.

Think about it. Somewhere in your past you came in contact with someone who had been transformed by the power of God and it so infected you that your life has been changed and will never again be the same. We are new creatures emerging from our old, dead cocoons after being infected by this virus. And we are highly contagious. This transformation from the old to the new, like a caterpillar to a butterfly, is so captivating and unbelievable that anyone who gets close enough to someone going through it will catch this virus themselves.

So if this virus is so contagious, why don't we see thousands upon thousands of people transforming before our eyes as they begin to follow Jesus? I think it is because we get stuck in the cocoon. For whatever reason, we don't fully emerge as new creatures. We get stuck somewhere between the old and the new (and that's a whole 'nother blog). It is only when we have the Life of Jesus within us and a lifestyle of following Jesus that we emerge from our cocoons and infect others with this Butterfly Virus. But if that happens...

If that happens, we could have an epidemic on our hands. People all around being transformed by the Life of Jesus and infecting others with the same virus that infected them. Awesome! Finally, there is a virus out there that we don't have to be afraid of catching or passing on! So go ahead, spread the virus.
Blessings,
Shiloh