Are You Protected?
The large juniper anchoring the corner of my childhood home always seemed to have bagworms. I remember those brown bags hanging like Christmas ornaments. Never giving much thought to how damaging the larvae inside could be to the shrub, I just knew those bags were tough. I spent hours trying to open them with my bare hands. Eventually I gave up and let them be.
Bagworm larvae build a protective case around themselves. The case grows larger as the caterpillar matures. Once mature, the male emerges to fly to a female, who remains in her bag. They mate and the male falls to the ground dead and the female lays between 500 and 1,000 eggs and dies inside the bag. The eggs hatch and the pupae lower themselves on silk threads through the bottom of the bag.
Like a snail, the caterpillar carries this bag around with them as they build it. When predators approach, the insect tucks back into the tough little bag until it is safe to resume moving, feeding and building. I photographed this bagworm that appears to have completed their journey after attaching to a concrete bridge column in uptown Charlotte.
What a great model for Christian living!
bctt tweet=”Are You Protected? #hope #joy #writingcommunity”]
We would do well to protect our Christian walk like the bagworm.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians at a time when they needed advice on maturing in their Christian walk. A key section of Paul’s letter talks about standing against the devil, much as the bagworm needs to stand against predators.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11, NASB)
The letter goes on to mention girding ourselves with truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. And after those wise words, we are encouraged to pray.
Like the bagworm, we mature one step at a time, protected through the discipline of Christian living. Satan will have as hard a time getting at us as I had trying to tear that intricately woven silk/stick bag by hand. As a reminder, I gave up when I realized how well protected the caterpillar was and moved on to something else.
Are you protected?
Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.
More than you ever wanted to know about bagworms here… https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/lepidoptera/bagworm/#:~:text=Bagworm%2C%20Thyridopteryx%20ephemeraeformis%20(Haworth),Photo%20by%20Drees.&text=Description%3A%20This%20insect%20is%20usually,the%20larval%20(caterpillar)%20stages.&text=As%20the%20caterpillar%20grows%20through,)%2C%20it%20enlarges%20its%20bag.
