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    by Kevin Pauley

The Five Rules of Transmogrification
Date Posted: April 6, 2021

Jesus replied, "I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3 HCSB

There once was a goat named Mbuzi who lived in the heart of Africa. Mbuzi was as vain as she was beautiful. One day, while looking at her reflection in a very still pond, Mbuzi decided she was far too beautiful to be a mere goat. She decided right then and there that she would become a lion.

Not knowing how to go about this, she decided to ask the wily Kachi, a chimpanzee that lived in a huge baobab tree in the heart of the jungle. After much thought and great scratching of fleas, Kachi gave her the “Five Rules of Transmogrification.” These were 1. Do what lions do. 2. Say what lions say. 3. Eat as lions eat. 4. Wear what lions wear. 5. Go where lions go.

Mbuzi was very excited and decided to begin immediately. She tried to make her little stubby goat tail swish and slink like a lion’s tail, but Ndombe the elephant just laughed at her. She taught herself to roar (though it actually sounded like a goat with laryngitis) and Twiga the giraffe mocked her. After steeling herself against the flies, she finally was able to stomach an old bone from a cadaver left behind by a pride of lions. All she got for her trouble was an argument with Hani the hyena who also wanted the bone. Out of desperation, she got Kachi to get a piece of bark and a burnt stick from a hunter’s fire. He used the stick to write “Lion” on the bark and stuck it on her stubby little horns so that everyone who could read would know who she now was. Everyone kept laughing. She decided it was time for new friends.

There was a place at the edge of the jungle, where the Serengeti began, that sounded promising. There was a small hill, covered in great boulders and small caves that the lions used as a meeting place. When Mbuzi finally arrived, the sun was setting and she was experiencing decidedly un-lionlike feelings of nervousness. She came to the main cave and peered into its blackness. “Hello? It’s Mbuzi!” She called out with a quavering voice. “I’m a fellow lion and I’m here to meet you!”

Behind her, a large shadow suddenly raised from behind a boulder. It had a long sinuous tail and rippling muscles. It kept razor sharp claws carefully retracted as it padded silently toward Mbuzi who was so intent on the cave entrance that she did not hear a thing. Wham! In one great leap and a flurry of motion and few frantic bleats, Mbuzi was indeed transmogrified. Not into a lion, but into a lion’s dinner.

We often mistakenly try to please God by following the rules of transmogrification. We go to church, shout “AMEN, HALLELUJAH!” We follow dietary laws or feasts and holy days. We wear our little crosses and WWJD bracelets so that everyone will know we are Christians. And all the while, we are unaware that our enemy “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”[1] 1 Peter 5:8. There was only one way that Mbuzi could have been a lion just as there is for us only one way to become children of God. In the words of the Master, “You must be born again.”


[1] 1 Peter 5:8

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Biography Information:
I make no claim of superior wisdom or originality. I am a student, just like everyone else. My goal in writing is to simply share whatever God chooses to teach me (many times by my children or parishioners) on any given day. I hope the devotionals are a blessing to you.

Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.