The Eagle

The Eagle 

By Bobbie Jane Van Dolson



Doth the eagle mount up at thy command?...

She dwelleth and abideth on the rock. Job 39:27,28

 

The eagle was just a little thing when the farmer brought it home. He showed it to his wife and then took it to the barnyard and set it down among the hens.

 

The newcomer grew quickly and in a few months reached the size of a magnificent, full-grown eagle. Still, it happily pecked bits of grain along with the chickens.

 

One day a naturalist visited the farm. He turned to the farmer in surprise and said, “There’s an eagle in there with your chickens.”

 

The farmer laughed. “He’s forgotten what he is.” But the naturalist picked the great bird up and held it high. “Eagle, you were meant for the sky,” he said. But the eagle looked down and saw the chickens and struggled free. Soon he was back among them.

 

Again the naturalist picked up the bird and this time he climbed to the roof of the farmhouse. “Eagle,” he said softly, “you were meant for the sky.” But the eagle looked down once more and saw the hens in the yard below, and he struggled free and fluttered down among them.

 

“I told you, he’s forgotten about being an eagle,” said the farmer.

 

But once again the naturalist picked up the bird. This time he carried him to the mountaintop, away from the farm and its distractions.

 

He turned the eagle’s head with its brilliant, piercing eyes toward the sun. “Eagle, you are not a chicken. You are an eagle, and you were meant for the sky, not for a barnyard.”

 

He felt the great heart of the bird begin to pound. “Go eagle,” he whispered. Suddenly the great wings stretched to their full nine-foot span, and with a wild scream the eagle soared away into the sun, never again to return.

 

What is the point of this little parable, which may or may not be true? Isn’t it easy for us to forget what we are? That is, Christians who were meant for something better than this world sometimes are happy just to settle down and enjoy it. Heaven is our real home, and there is nothing here that is great enough or good enough to keep us from that destination. 

Never forget that you are special. 

You were meant for the sky.