But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” [Mark 2:16-18 (NLT)]
While editing photos, I came to one of a pipevine swallowtail. Seeing it on my computer rather than the camera’s viewfinder, I realized it had seen far better days. Its once beautiful wings were tattered and torn, only one “tail” remained, an antenna was missing, and, with many of its scales gone, its wings were more translucent than iridescent blue. Perhaps it had a close call with a predator, the wind had tossed it around, or it simply was old. In any case, it was damaged goods and no longer beautiful.
We tend to discard broken things, battered items, and damaged goods without giving them a second thought and I was ready to delete the less than perfect butterfly. What if God tossed us away because of our imperfections, scars, and defects? What if He stopped caring for us because we were scratched, broken, dented, or wearing out? Unlike the butterfly, it’s not birds, hail, or blowing twigs that leave us ragged and torn; its things like illness and injury, betrayal, loss, dysfunctional families, abuse, mental illness, broken relationships, addiction, financial crises, and sin. Even though the resulting damage isn’t always visible, we’re marred with pain, shame, regret, rejection, disappointment, disgrace, anger, apathy, loneliness, and fear. No one gets through life without getting a few bumps and bruises along the way and we all are damaged goods. Our scuff marks, scars, and brokenness may not be as obvious as the butterfly’s; nevertheless, they are there.
Jesus came for the less than perfect. Think of the people he loved, touched, healed, welcomed, and forgave. Sinners all, they included hated Samaritans and disparaged Gentiles, pariahs like lepers and the bleeding woman, the blind and crippled, an adulterous woman, some traitorous taxmen, political zealots, people with sordid pasts, the demon-possessed, a repentant thief, a prostitute, the disciple who denied Him, the one who doubted Him, and even the one He knew would betray Him! Jesus didn’t come for the perfect; He came for the defeated, damaged, disheartened, and sinful. While the butterfly’s wings will never heal, Jesus can heal the brokenness in our hearts and souls.
Originally, I hadn’t detected the butterfly’s damaged state because it flitted about so quickly that I barely had time to focus before it flew off to another flower. While it may have been damaged, that pipevine certainly wasn’t defeated. In God’s wisdom, He made butterflies more resilient than they appear. While the loss of an antenna means they have some trouble navigating, the loss of scales changes their aerodynamics, and the loss of much of their wings makes flight slower and more demanding, butterflies can thrive and survive, as that battered pipevine proved! It never allowed its tattered wings to deter it from making the most of the sunny day or the remaining days God allotted it. Instead of hiding under a leaf feeling sorry for itself and complaining about the unfairness of life, it was dancing in the flowers and sipping sweet nectar! Rather than being deleted, it belonged in a butterfly hall of fame.
Now, whenever I come across a damaged butterfly, I’m reminded that God loves all of His beautiful children, imperfect and broken creatures that we are. No matter how flawed, He will never discard us or toss us in the trash heap! God made us even more resilient than a fragile butterfly. Because of His power, we never need surrender to life’s challenges. We may be battered by this world but, because God’s grace is more than sufficient, we can carry on. If tattered wings can carry a battered butterfly through the flowers, we know that God can carry us through anything.
As we continued our brief study on prayer, one person shared that his prayer frequently is for patience. Agreeing, I admitted often praying, “Lord, please give me patience…and give it to me now!” While patience is a fruit of the Spirit, I have a problem getting it to grow in the garden of my life.
As we came together in worship, each of us bringing the Lord our own private sins, sorrows, doubts, and fears, the hymn’s words, “Just as I am… I come, I come,” seemed a fitting way to start the service. Because its heartfelt words are so relatable, Just as I Am is one of my favorite hymns. Curious about its origin, I learned that its words were written by a Victorian hymn writer named Charlotte Elliott. The daughter of an evangelist, she suffered a serious illness at the age of 32 that left her an invalid for the rest of her life. Angry about what she perceived as uselessness because of her disability, Elliott became severely depressed and spiritually lost. After a visiting minister counseled her to come to Jesus, she asked how she could come to Him when all she had was her anger, sadness, questions, and broken body. The clergyman’s response was simple: “Come to Him just as you are.” Although she gave her life to Christ at that time, she continued to be plagued by depression.
Devotions of the Heart 