Puriri Moth (Aenetus virescens) ~ The Eternal Weight of Glory

New Zealand boasts many strange and beautiful creatures.  The most beautiful are difficult to find.  One must know where to look.  Let me tell you about the most beautiful moth I have ever seen, called Puriri. 

Puriri lives for 6 years as a ‘grub’.  She tunnels through tree bark, all alone, in the cold and the dark.  During this time she is hunted by hungry parrots and other animals who tear at the bark in an effort to consume her.  And for all of these 6 years she survives by eating a meager meal of wood.

Finally, Puriri emerges with a pair of magical, green-marble wings.  These magnificent wings stretch 150mm—she is New Zealand’s largest moth.  Yet the freedom does not last long for her.  After being released from her prison, she lives for just 48 hours.  After 6 years of struggle, Puriri only gets to enjoy her wings for 2 days. 

I have told the story of the Puriri moth to many people, and these people usually tell me that the lifecycle is not fair.  Perhaps you have felt like the Puriri: we struggle and struggle just to survive and we only see a brief moment of freedom.  Indeed, the struggle and pain and darkness of our existence often seem to outdo the fleeting moments of joy.

There is much we can learn from the Puriri moth.  The Christian paradigm inverts this life cycle.  In this ideology, we have just one moment of suffering, followed by an eternity with glorious wings.  The Bible depicts it this way:

“We do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4v16&17)

While I was studying theology in Oxford, I once asked my mentor how we could make sense of all the darkness and pain in this world.  His answer was simple: On the day that Jesus wipes every tear away from every face, we won’t even remember what ‘sorrow’ means.  In the light of His glorious face, all darkness will melt away.  All pain and sadness and confusion will dissolve like snow.

“Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” –Isaiah 51v11

Let us look forward to our promise: an eternity with wings.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guardian Trees ~ When Leaders Fall

Image
I recently received a message from a friend of mine who lives in Oregon. There was no text, only a ten second video panorama of what looked like a war zone. Trees were strewn all over the ground. Splintered wood carpeted the scene. It took me a moment to realize that the recording was taken just outside of their house. I was shocked. After visiting them each year, I’ve come to know their land well. The forest surrounding their home has become like a friend to me. Now it’s an unrecognizable wasteland. I called my friend to make sure she was alright, and she told me the story of what happened. Over the summer, new tenants purchased the adjacent property. They were first-time landowners and did not consult anyone about managing their forest. The couple decided that they wanted more sun, so they hired loggers to come and cut down the trees on their property. Residents in the area (some of whom had been in land management for 40+ years) reached out to the new neighbors and explained that th
Read more

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) ~ Navigating the Way

Image
“ Let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.” (Hebrews 12v1-2) Humpback Whales migrate farther than any other mammal on this planet, and they do so with astonishing accuracy.  Their trajectory is reportedly less than 1 degree off at any given time during their 6,000 mile journey.(1) How are these whales capable of such precision?   Sea turtles often follow a particular current.  This is impossible for humpbacks as sea currents are highly variable for the duration of the trip.   Sharks take cues from the earth’s magnetic fields.  Not so for the humpback whales; magnetic north changes as much at 12% along the way.     Migratory birds often follow the sun.  Yet the sun alone cannot explain the whales’ near-perfect navigation.  In a report from “Biology Letters” (2), humpbacks from the same area were found to follow similar headings despite seeing the sun
Read more