Elizabeth, Mary’s relative, a descendant of Aaron and the wife of a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah:  “Elizabeth and her husband were upright in the sight of God” (Luke 1:5-6).  Elizabeth, like Mary was honored by divine circumstance.  She was the mother of John the Baptist, who would “go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah…” (Luke 1:17).  Her circumstance, too, was surrounded by specific detail for a purpose.

Read Luke chapters 1 and 2

The Scripture says that the angel who came to Mary said to her, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you”. (Luke 1:28).  I would say that this statement is a testimony to Mary’s character.  She surely was a young woman who had lived her life in faithfulness to her God.  Yet her faith was not without question.  After the angel explained to her that she would give birth to “The Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32), she asked the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”.  The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God.”  Mary answered the angel by saying, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be to me as you have said.”  (Luke 1:34-38).  Wow, what a great testimony to her faith.  Notice Mary’s attitude, in her questioning of this circumstance.  She did not say, “This is impossible, how CAN this be?”.  She simply said, “How WILL this be?”.

Let’s bring Mary and Elizabeth together.  Elizabeth, who had been childless into her old age, is now into her six month.  Elizabeth, who found herself with child in her old age, who knew in her heart that the Lord lavished his favor upon her, was about to filled with the Holy Spirit by the presence of Mary and her unborn child.

The Scripture says that Mary hurried to the home of Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the babe inside of her leaped and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Elizabeth blessed Mary and the child within her.  She encouraged Mary, as Mary questioned why she should be so blessed and favored by the Lord.  Elizabeth said, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished”.  (Luke 1:39-44).  What a wonderful bond the two must have felt in their souls.  It was a bond by divine circumstance, and by the Lord’s favor. 

Scripture references:  Matthew 1-2; 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 1-2; 8:19-21; John 2:1-11; 19:25-27; Acts 1:14

Today, as you think about your faith, think about a time that you have questioned the will of God.  Did you ask, “How can this be” or “How will this be”.  Certainly, we will not be asked to accept the circumstance of Mary.  This cannot be, it’s already been done.    Has the Lord ever asked you to do something to which you said,  “Lord I can’t do that”?  Maybe we should learn to say, “Lord, how will I do that?” or better yet, “Lord, help me to do this thing you have asked me to do”.  As you think about your faith today, thank the Lord for those in your life you are bonded with by circumstance.  Thank Him for your friends and family, that He has divinely placed in your life.  The Lord is intentional, and divinely purposeful.  May the Lord lavish His favor upon us as we lavish our faith upon Him.

There have been several people navigate to this blog with the question:  What is the biblical significance of the butterfly?

This is my interpretation…

The butterfly is a symbol of the amazing transformation that takes place in the life of a Christian through the power of Jesus Christ (who is the Word) and The Word of God.  When we talk about meditating on the Word of God, I believe we are talking about a very special kind of “meditation”.  In some religions or relaxation programs, the facilitator encourages you to “clear” your mind.  When we meditate upon The Word, our minds are transformed.  The Word replaces the “old self” with the “new self”.  I don’t think Jesus ever said, “relax and clear your mind”.  It is a complete metamorphosis, as with the butterfly.

2 Corinthians 5:17  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  NIV

Romans 12:2  “…..transformed by the renewal of your mind.”  NIV

A friend of mine once explained meditating on the Word in this way:  Take a cup of hot water and place a tea bag in it.  As the tea bag remains in the hot water, the water is infused with the tea.  As we place the Word of God in our minds and our hearts, we are infused with Him.  Infuse means to permeate with something that alters.  It means to introduce something into another so it is affected throughout.  In this case it means to pour into our minds and our hearts, giving us new life and significance.

We can look at the life cycle of the butterfly as this: 

The caterpillar might symbolize us before we become Christians.  We are filled with self and our physical needs.  The chrysalis (cocoon) can be a symbol of the transformation from ”old self” to the “new self” and/or the tomb.  The butterfly is the symbol of resurrection into “New Life With Christ” and/or at the resurrection of the dead.  1 Corinthians 15:52b  “For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  NIV

The Following is a quote from “The Diciple: Day 11″.  To see entire post click on the link at the bottom of this post.

“So, to be quite honest with you, I’m not going to be too hard on Martha, and I will certainly learn from her conversations with Jesus, because that is what The Word does to us.  It transforms us into “New Creatures” in Christ….Disciples of Christ!  I believe Martha was becoming a “New Creature” in Christ.”

“Let’s rephrase the question:  Can you take this all in Martha?  Jesus said, I am declaring that I am supremely divine.  I have the power, given to me, by my Father, to open the grave, give life and call forth from the grave to give new life.  Eternal life is given by me, through me and I am going to do it for you, to teach you about victory over death.  I had to think about what I just wrote.  Martha just answered Jesus off the cuff.”

http://butterflybiblestudies.com/the-disciple-day-11/