MUCH MORE THAN THIS

MUCH MORE THAN THIS

Have you ever looked critically into the mirror image of your life and wondered silently, “Is that all there is?  Could it be possible that I was created for much more than this?”

Consider the curious story of Eddie, the baby eaglet.  He entered this world by audaciously forcing his way out of a hard eggshell.  Later he learned that he would share a large nest at the top of a tall tree with his eaglet siblings.

One day a strong gust of wind blew by and the family nest rocked wildly from side to side – at one point tipping so far that poor little Eddie fell out of his nest and comfort zone.  Since he was not yet old enough to fly, Eddie spiraled down, down, down through the branches.  Amazingly, he landed safely atop a rabbit burrow at the base of the tree.  Standing erect, Eddie found himself situated among a group of young bunnies that had been born around the same time as he.

Rabbits may be good breeders, but they’re not exceptionally smart.  So no one seemed to realize that Eddie was actually a baby eagle. They all assumed him to be a rather odd-looking rabbit.  So Eddie was fully accepted into the family and grew up believing to be (and living as) a rabbit.  He learned the basics of hopping and jumping; and he lived in the family burrow, existing on a daily diet of grass and lettuce.

Predictably, all of his life Eddie struggled with a tragic sense of identity inferiority.  He simply did not look like other rabbits.  He was always the last chosen for hopping games.  And he was often terribly ill from eating green grass.

But his life was destined to experience a radical change.  Eddie and his rabbit siblings were out in the field playing when a dark shadow suddenly spread itself across the ground.  The rabbits looked up and spied a mighty eagle hurtling towards them with phenomenal power and speed.

With frantic squeals of fear, those rabbits ran as fast as they could for the undergrowth.  Eddie knew that he was a goner because he couldn’t run as fast.  His heart sank as he watched them reaching safety while he was still hopping around in the open field.  The mighty eagle drew closer and closer, until Eddie could feel its force right above him.  And just when Eddie had braced himself for the inevitable, he heard the mighty eagle cry out, “What are you doing hopping around on the ground like a rabbit?  You’re an eagle.  Spread your wings and fly!”

Quite startled by the shock of what was happening, but totally motivated by the eagle’s words, Eddie started to move those ‘useless’ things that were attached to his sides.  For the very first time, he stretched out his God-given wings and started flapping until he found himself lifting off the ground and soaring effortlessly through the heavens. That day Eddie discovered that he had never been designed to hop clumsily on the ground but to soar gracefully through the skies.

The same is equally true of us.  God thoughtfully created and carefully crafted us – with enormous dignity, honor and purpose – to be his very image and spiritual ambassadors on the earth.  However, we grow up in societies that tell us that we are something other than those magnificent creations made in the very likeness of God.  Nevertheless, on the miraculous day that we experience the new birth, we start to discover our true nature, that we can indeed reflect, renew, rise and soar, that we can become anything and everything that HE has designed us to be.

My friend, you are much more than this.  Discover your wings.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!