(An excerpt from one of my Daddy’s sermons)

I’m really glad that it’s the eagle and not one of the other birds that God chose to identify us with. He could have likened us to a variety of other birds if He had so desired, and rightly so, because we display many of their characteristics.

Take the chicken for example. Having been born in southeast Missouri, and having spent some time on a farm, I know something about chickens. Let me give you some chicken facts to show you why I’m glad God said we are to become like eagles and not chickens.

Chickens are crowd followers. If a chicken sees a bunch of chickens running across the chicken yard, he will take off after them. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t know where they are going or why they are going there. He follows along because he doesn’t want to miss out on anything the majority is doing.

Chickens just naturally “squabble and fight” over things in the chicken yard. If one finds a nice juicy bug to eat, suddenly they all want it. They will chase each other all over the chicken yard, trying to take it away from each other. They are funny that way. They can walk all around a bug or a grasshopper and not pay any attention to it, but the moment one decides he wants it, at that moment, they all decide they want it and the chase is on.

They have no interest in the heavenlies. They are content to live in the chicken yard, walking around with their eyes on the ground, scratching in the dirt looking for something to eat. Most of them will never try to fly. They are earthbound birds.

I think you can see now why I’m convinced that living the chicken life can never compare to living the eagle life. Chicken living is so limited – so confining – so predictable and so boring. However, living the eagle life, now that’s another story.

When we hear the word eagle, our minds envision an eagle soaring in the atmosphere, effortlessly riding the wind currents high above the earth; majestic in appearance. He is King of the Sky, master of his domain. With keenness of eye, he spies his prey and swooping down to earth with tremendous speed, and sharp strong talons set, it snatches up its meal and soars back to its nest to feast.

 MY COMMENTARY:

Both the chicken and eagle are creatures of God, yet each species have entirely different ambitions.

The chicken is content to hang out at ground level with no aspirations to fly. They remain content within their circumstances and susceptible to continual attacks by predators. We all know what happens when a fox enters a henhouse. Feathers fly like the after effects of a pillow fight, chicken’s necks are broken and the fox carries away their prey.

Eagles, on the other hand, aren’t confined to ground level. They soar above their circumstances. From high perches, they survey the landscape and are ready to attack when faced with any serious survival challenges. Their exceptional eyesight enables them to spot even well-camouflaged potential prey from a very long distance.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be an eagle. I don’t want to settle for the mundane life of a chicken. I want to mount up with wings of an eagle and rise above my surroundings. I want God to knock me off my perch, force me to look beyond the jagged rocks and treacherous terrain. I want to flap my wings until I become strong enough to handle the wind currents of life. I don’t want to take a nose dive and end up as an earth bound chicken that never soars to spiritual heights.

We are called to be eagles. Why live the life of a chicken when you can be an eagle and make the Most High your dwelling place?

Psalm 91: 1-16