by Chris Wright
"Butterflies, of course," the caterpillar said.
"Caterpillars!" chirped the lark. "And you will find it out in time." Then he flew away, for he did not want to stay and argue.
"I thought the lark would be wise and kind," the caterpillar complained loudly, once more beginning to walk in circles around the eggs. "But now I know he's foolish and insulting instead. Perhaps he flew too high this time. Ah, it's a pity when people who fly so high are silly and rude. But I still wonder what he sees, and what he does up yonder."
"I would tell you, if you would only believe me," the lark sang, descending once more.
"I believe everything I'm told," the caterpillar repeated, with as solemn a face as if it were a fact.
"Then I'll tell you something else," the lark cried, "for the best news remains. One day, you will be a butterfly yourself."
"Wretched bird!" the caterpillar exclaimed. "You are making fun of me, so now you're cruel as well as foolish. Go away. I will ask your advice no more."
"I said you would not believe me," the lark said angrily.
"I believe everything I'm told," the caterpillar persisted. "That is ..." and she hesitated, "everything it is reasonable to believe. But please don't tell me those butterfly eggs are caterpillars, and that caterpillars stop crawling and grow wings and become butterflies. Lark, you are too wise to believe such nonsense yourself, for you know it is impossible."
"I know no such thing," the lark said. "Whether I hover over the fields or go high up into the sky, I see many wonderful things. I know of no reason why there should not be more. Oh, caterpillar, it is only because you crawl, because you never get beyond your patch of cabbages, that you call these things impossible,"
"Nonsense," the caterpillar shouted in as loud a voice as she could manage. "I know what's possible and what's not possible -- just as well as you do. Look at my long body and these rows of legs, and then talk to me about having wings. You foolish bird!"
"And you are a foolish caterpillar," the indignant lark replied. "You are foolish to attempt to argue about things you cannot understand. Do you not hear how my song swells with joy whenever I visit the mysterious wonder-world above? Oh, caterpillar, I have been there and returned. Trust me when I tell you these things."
"That is what you call ..."
"Faith," the lark interrupted.
"And how am I to learn faith?" the caterpillar asked.
At that moment she felt something by her side. She looked round. Eight little green caterpillars like herself were moving about, and had already made a hole in the leaf of the cabbage. They had broken from the butterfly's eggs.
Shame and amazement filled the caterpillar's heart, but delight soon followed. If this was possible, perhaps she really would become a butterfly one day.
"Teach me your lesson, lark," she said, and the lark sang to her of the wonders of the Earth below, and of the heavens above. The caterpillar talked day after day to her relatives and friends of the time when she would become a butterfly.
But none of them believed her. Nevertheless, she had learned the lark's lesson of faith. When she was going into her chrysalis, she said, "I shall be a butterfly some day."
But her relatives thought her head was wandering, and said, "Poor thing."
She said quietly, "I have known many wonders. I have faith. I can trust even now for what shall come next."
Epilogue
Just because we cannot understand something, it doesn't mean it's not true. Some people say we can't be certain there's a place for us in Heaven. Jesus came from Heaven and made many promises, and then He went back there when He rose from the dead. So we really can trust Him when He says He will take us to Heaven to be with Him when we die -- as long as we accept him as our Saviour. When we do, Jesus promises to forgive all we have ever done wrong, and we can trust Him absolutely. There is one part of this story that is not like life for us. Did you notice it at the beginning? The Bible teaches that unlike the butterfly who seemed to have forgotten that she was once a caterpillar, we will always remember our life here as "caterpillars"!
Some Bible verses:
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
[Jesus says] "I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:28)
THE ROCKY ISLAND
Original story by Samuel Wilberforce
I saw in a dream a rough and rocky island rising straight up from a roaring sea. In the middle of the island rose a steep, black mountain. Dark clouds hid the top of this mountain from sight, while deep red flames from a volcano lit up the clouds from time to time. Angry lightning and thunder tore at the few trees that grew on the mountain, and sometimes one would be smashed to pieces and crash down into the sea.
My first thoughts were that the island was completely deserted, for who would want to live on such a wild and frightening place? Then to my surprise I saw a beach covered with soft white sand, and on this beach were young people at play. They ran here and there -- some collecting shells, others picking bright orange berries from the bushes that grew below the cliffs. A few raced towards the water in fun, running back quickly as the waves rushed up the sands towards them.
One boy began calling to the seabirds. The birds stood watching as he crept close, holding out a hand. Then they hopped away, but did not seem to feel themselves in any danger. A loud roar from the top of the mountain sent huge flames high into the clouds, and I was amazed how little concern the young people seemed to have for the dangers that surrounded them.
As the roar from the mountain grew even louder, they paused in their play. Then the thunder crashed closer than ever, making everyone run together into a frightened group. Soon the thunder died away, and before long all was forgotten, and the young people started their games once more.
For some time I stood and watched. Then to my surprise a man appeared. He walked slowly along the beach, calling to everyone by name to gather round him. His face was kind, and his voice gentle.
"Listen to me," I heard him say. "I have come to show you the way to a safer and happier place than this. I am the prince of a land that is far away. My father the king wishes me to take you safely to him. Believe me, you must not remain here any longer."
They listened to the prince quietly, and then turned to each other. "How can we get away?" I heard one boy whisper to another. "We'll never be able to swim across the sea. I think we ought to stay and risk the dangers of the mountain."
The prince heard what was whispered, and stooped down to the boy. "Do not stay here," he warned, in a firm but loving voice. "You certainly cannot swim to safety, but I have made a way of escape. Follow me, and you will see."
The prince led everyone past a high rock to another beach. Here the sea was calm, rippling gently among a fleet of small, brightly coloured sailing boats, each large enough for just one person. There was a rudder to steer with, a pure white sail to carry the boat along its course, and at the top of each mast a white flag with a cross of bright red. The flags and the sails fluttered in the breeze.
When the young people saw these boats they looked at each other in excitement, but the prince held out a hand in warning. "The voyage will be difficult," he said. "At times the sea will be stormy and dangerous. But you need not be afraid, for although the waves may be high and frightening, I am leading you to a wonderful land where there is no angry mountain. There will be trees by the side of a beautiful river, and the trees will always be green and the leaves always fresh. The fruits on the trees will ripen every month. There is happiness and light there for ever."
The prince paused to make sure everyone was listening. "Th
ere are others there who have passed safely over this sea. Some of you will find fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters. I shall look after you during the voyage, and be with you always."
As soon as the prince finished speaking, everyone seemed anxious to be on their way. As he helped each of the young people into their boats, the prince told them they must never look back at the rocky island, but must keep their eyes open for the wonderful land where they were going. If they had any shells or berries with them they must leave them behind. If they tried to take these with them in the boats, they would soon be in difficulty.
When some of them heard these instructions they crept away, then ran quickly back to the beach where they had just been playing. Then to my surprise I thought I could see others hiding shells and berries in their pockets, before jumping into their boats and pretending they had left everything behind.
The prince had gifts for everyone in the boats. First there was a compass hidden inside a special book. "You will each have one of these," he said, "and you must study it closely. Then you will know the way to steer as you follow me across the water. When the darkness of night comes on, or a thick mist surrounds you, or there is no breeze to help you on your way, you may not be able to see me. It is then that you must open your books and look at your compass, and its needle will always point true and straight to where I am."
There was another present for everybody: a musical pipe that gave out a soft, murmuring sound when blown gently. "Playing on this is like talking to me," the prince said. "You can make use of it as often as you wish, even when things are going well. It will help the voyage pass easily. And be very sure to use it to call me when your boat will not keep on course, or when the waves are large and frightening. Then I will be with you to help you."
The young people took their gifts and stowed them securely in their boats. As they sailed away from the rocky island I thought how wonderful everything looked. The snow-white sails stood out brightly against the blue of the sea like specks of white floating in the sky, but the sea on the other side of the island looked dark and stormy. Everyone followed the prince. So far, they all seemed to be finding the voyage easy.
Then, as I watched, I could see some boats dropping behind, although most stayed close to the prince. A few were even going off course to the right or the left.
At first I was puzzled that they should be drifting away so soon. Then I could see many reasons for this. In one boat a girl kept turning to look at the island that had been her home. She seemed to have forgotten the prince's warning. While she turned to look, her boat drifted further and further back towards the rocky island.
Then the sound of her friends who had chosen to stay behind came clearly across the waves. They seemed to be having such fun that the girl forgot the burning mountain and the dangers. She forgot the land of safety she had been so excited to set course for in the boat. She forgot the prince who had promised to be with her through all difficulties. As she listened to the others playing on the sand, a wave lifted her boat and carried it onto some rocks close to the shore.
I turned in disappointment, and saw two other boats keeping close together, but for some reason going faster and faster away from the true course. Then I realised the boys were having an angry race. They were so busy trying to get the better of each other that they forgot to look for the prince's boat, or to watch the finger of the compass. The more they tried to race, the further they went in the wrong direction.
There was another boat that was also going the wrong way. This time there was no one at the rudder to steer the correct course. The girl was playing with something in the bottom of the boat. Then I saw she had some of the bright orange berries they had been warned to leave behind.
As I watched, her boat too was carried onto a rock with such force that a hole was ripped in its side, and it began to sink.
Surely the boats following the prince closely would make me happier to watch. Here I was puzzled by the way one boat would be sailing along in calm water, while another close to it was battling through a sudden storm.
Another boat became surrounded by a heavy darkness. The boy in it called out to his friends, and in answer they told him to play some music. When he blew softly on his pipe, I knew he was safe again. But sometimes the darkness seemed too much to call through, and several boats became lost in silence.
In spite of the darkness, the young sailors only had to read the compass that was inside their book, and the needle would light up to show the way. Then they would blow on their pipes, and the darkness lifted as the music rose softly from their boats. At times like this I thought the young sailors could more clearly see the beautiful land the prince had told them about, than they could see their friends sailing close by.
Then I noticed another boat that had stopped moving altogether. The boat and its sail were so still they could have been part of a painted picture. The wind and the waves had gone. It was strange that another boat shot along close by, its sail blowing out full in a fresh breeze. But the boat that lay in the calm water showed no sign of movement.
I saw this happen to many boats along the way. If the young sailors sat in the bottom of their boats and left their compass and pipe alone, the boats lay still until night came. However, if they picked up the tuneful instrument and blew gently into it, the soft music seemed to whisper to the wind, and suddenly the blood-red cross of the flag would lift itself over the water and the sail would fill with a fresh breeze. Before long the boat would be dancing on its way.
I watched other boats that were going well, but would suddenly come to a stormy patch of water. Great waves lifted up their angry white heads, although on each side the sea was calm. Quickly the young sailors would look ahead for signs of the prince, and get out the compass. If the way led through the stormy water they would need a bold heart and a faithful hand to steer straight ahead. But always, just when the water seemed to be at its most dangerous, the waves would die down and let their boats pass through in safety. Then the wind would blow the boats faster than before to the distant land.
How different for the sailor who decided not to trust the compass. One boy had been getting on well until now, but the sight of the raging waves frightened him. For a time he kept his boat going straight ahead, but turned at the last moment into a patch of calm. Then, when all seemed to be well, a hidden sandbank caught his boat and held it fast.
Another boy followed this boat. This seemed to happen often. Whenever one boat went off course, others would follow it, the sailors forgetting to read their compass and test the way. And so it happened now. The boy who was following, suddenly saw the sandbank and tried to turn aside, but too late. The water became rough, and tipped the small boat onto its side.
I was glad to see three or four boats getting along safely together. Ever since leaving the rocky island they had stayed with each other. Few others had got on so well in their voyage. I could see, as I looked closely at their faces, that they were all members of one family. All through the voyage they kept cheering each other up, and helping first one and then another through difficulties. If one of them got into some sort of trouble with the boat, the others would come over to help. Instead of being slowed down by this, they seemed to get along faster and easier on their journey.
I realised that the voyage, that to me seemed short, had really been long -- a lifetime. Many of the sailors who had set out as young people were now much older. I longed to see how each voyage would end. So I stayed with the boat that was furthest forward, so I could watch it come to land.
First this boat, and then the ones that followed, came to an area of storm and darkness just before the shore of the happy land. True, some of the boats found the storm and the darkness easier than did others, but every boat had to pass alone through this part of the sea. Even the family that had been so close to each other had to separate when they reached this dark part.
"Peace," the prince called to each boat as it entered the storm. "Do not be troubled." But som
e of the sailors, especially the older ones, chose to ignore his voice as they tried to find their own way through.
The boats that sailed in fastest seemed to get through the best. Indeed, this happened every time. When the sailor kept an eye on the compass, and held tightly to the rudder, the storm and darkness caused little trouble. Others would play soft music as they passed through.
Then the boat would break through into the brightness of the land that lay beyond. The joyful sound of family and friends, gathered on the shore to greet them, drifted across the water.
There were others waiting there too, who were like people and yet they were different -- as only seen in some dream of angels. These were their friends too, for they welcomed them on the shore. Then the sailors were lifted up and carried with songs of triumph into the shining presence of the king.
There, sitting on a royal throne beside his father, they saw the prince wearing a glorious crown. Each person smiled up at the face of gentle majesty that had first looked on them when they played on the shore of that now distant island, so long ago. They heard again the voice that had urged them to flee from the burning mountain.
This was the prince who had given them a boat and told them to follow him; the prince who had been near them through the storms; who had given them light in the darkness and helped them through the times when their boats had been halted by the calm. They saw the king's son who had never left them; who had kept and guided them across the ocean -- through the final storm and darkness -- and who now received them, young and old, to his never-ending rest.
Epilogue
The disciples of Jesus were caught out in the large lake of Galilee in a couple of violent storms. Like many of us when things in the Christian life get tough, they were afraid. But Jesus had words of peace and comfort for them. Here is one occasion when the disciples were scared.