Emphasis Preaching Journal

Paul encourages us to put to death the old so that the new might emerge. Consider the Juniper Scale, a pest that feeds on conifers, leaving them with dead or stunted twigs and uneven growth. The female Juniper Scale, filled with eggs, winters over in the foliage of the host tree. In mid-May she lays about forty eggs, then dies. Sometime in June, the eggs hatch into little crawlers, which immediately seek out a feed site on the tree. As they mature, the crawlers take on their male or female characteristics. In mid-July and through August, the males seek females with which to mate. Once mating occurs, the male dies. The female continues to grow until late fall, when she is nearly fully developed. She is then ready to winter over; one cycle has been completed.

For the Juniper Scale, new life comes at a premium cost: the death of both the male and female insect. The cost is the same for new life in the Christian: death of the old.