Then I heard every creature in Heaven and on Earth and under the earth
and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing.
Rev. 5:13a

The Lesson of the Cicada

Would you be offended if I told you that, in one way or another, you're like a bug? The insect I have in mind is the periodical cicada (Magicicada sp.). Please bear with me, and let's examine together what this critter can tell us about ourselves.

The female 17-year cicada (periodical cicada) lays her eggs during the month of June. She deposits 400 to 600 of them under the bark of trees-trees found in the eastern half of the United States. Six weeks later, ant-sized nymphs hatch from these eggs. The newborn cicadas are attracted to the sunshine and start to climb up the branches. But soon, each nymph succumbs to the pull of gravity and falls to Earth.

So it was for Adam and Eve in the garden. When Jesus first made people, they were captivated by Him. But, the first couple rebelled against their Creator. Like gravity, their sin drove them from His presence (Genesis 3:24). We call this crucial event in history "The Fall of Mankind"-the moment in time when people began to reject God.

12 year-old nymph

The cicada nymph soon forgets about the Son... I mean, the Sun. It immediately digs its way into darkness, content to feed on the sap of tree roots one to three feet (one-third of a meter to one meter) underground.

The Bible says that all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It is in our human nature to love the blackness of sin (John 3:19-20) just as a cicada nymph prefers a home with no light.

Cicadas seem quite content in their gloomy underworld. For 16 years, nary a nymph sees the light of day! Then in the spring of the seventeenth year, the Creator of nymphs calls them out from their dark, cool world. Now, many creatures are living underground at this time, but only cicadas respond to Christ's sweet, steady voice.

So also Christ calls a sinner forth to forsake his life of iniquity and live in the light of God's truth. No one knows how Jesus convinces the nymph to give up its sunless subsistence. (I am certain that the cicada would never come out from the darkness if God didn't command it!) And the work of the Holy Spirit to call a man out of spiritual night and into His radiant kingdom (Colossians 1:13) is equally mysterious.

The emerging cicada has front feet that resemble lobster claws-it uses them to dig and scratch its way out of the ground. The nymph, typically soiled with the dirt of its subterranean habitat, will then climb onto the trunk of a tree or wooden post and there shed its filthy skin.

Oh, what a picture of the Cross! When God looks at us, He sees the filth of our wickedness. Our sins are repulsive to Him. But God is merciful and calls us to the Cross where we can shed our sin. Just as Jesus guides the clumsy nymph to the nearest tree, He will lead us to the Cross where He takes our sins away, if we're willing to come. Oh, what a loving Savior we have!

Cicadas are inexplicably attracted to trees. Trees are where they worship their Creator with strange music. Whether we are enchanted or annoyed by the cicada's shrill song, it effectively draws our attention to the place where it sings. This then becomes a reminder that it was on a "tree" that our Creator died for the sins of His people
(1 Peter 2:24).

Once the cicada has emerged from darkness, it never again returns to its earthy home. So it is with the true Christian-he never returns to his old life, and he can never lose his salvation!

Few creatures are more stunningly beautiful than the cicada just after its final molt (see front page). Like Christ in His transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2), it possesses for a brief time a fantastic, almost ghost-like appearance. Now free from its soiled skin, the cicada soon flies to a higher spot in the tree using its new wings. It then takes up a lofty position of worship that no one can ignore, except the deaf.

In one sense, this is a picture of our dear Christ, triumphing over the filth of our sin, rising gloriously from death, and taking His place in heaven to sing His Father's praises (Hebrews 2:12)! It's no wonder that ancient cultures, such as the Greeks, saw the amazing transformation of a nymph into an adult cicada as a symbol for resurrection!

And it is also a depiction of the Christian-reborn by the Holy Spirit-leaving the squalor of his sin behind. A true Believer comes to radiate the glory of God in this new life. With wings of freedom in Christ, he lives to praise and worship his Creator, no longer imprisoned by the gloom of his old existence. As the cicada thrives in the warmth of daylight, the Christian now lives in the sunshine of Jesus' glory!

The Bible gives us a clear picture of repentance in 1 Kings 8:47-50. It says that, like the cicada, we have all been held captive in darkness-not the suffocating silence of soil, but the endless night of sin. God's Spirit must do a work in our hearts to make us alive in Christ. He alone is the One who can give us the desire, strength and, yes, courage to come out from our life of evil, confess to God that we are wicked and turn our back on sin. God opens our eyes to see that we need Jesus to save us from our sin.

Where are you? Are you daily worshiping Christ in your heart, or are you imprisoned in the silent realm of iniquity? God is calling you by His Word to come out from the blackness of your life, believe that Jesus died on a tree for your sins, and rose from the dead to give you eternal life. God will forgive you and clothe you with the beauty of Christ's righteousness! If you repent of your sins and surrender yourself to Christ, committing yourself to Him with all your heart, He will give you the freedom not to sin. Then you will begin to enjoy the sweetness of worshiping God through His Son forever and ever. What paradise!

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with
joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:11

Copyrighted Picture Credits
1: Image by Richard Mallory Allnutt - copyright 2004
2: HIS CREATION after Marlatt
3: HIS NATURE
4: HIS CREATION after Wright
5: HIS CREATION