“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
1 Peter 2:9-10
Once there was an eagle who didn’t act at all like the great, proud bird he was born to be. This was an eagle who lived among chickens in a henhouse and a covered coop. He could be seen every morning scratching the dirt for bits of grain and pecking at the cobs of corn the farmer threw to him and the rest of the chickens. The eagle’s eyes were as dull as his feathers. He was one sad bird.
One day, a passerby who felt sorry for the eagle entered the cage, grasped the bird with both hands, and carried him to the top of a nearby mountain. A sweeping spectacle of rugged peaks, turquoise lakes, and pine forests stretched before them. The heart of the great eagle began to pound in the man’s grasp.
The eagle’s eyes focused on the glacier-scarred mountains and deep cliffs. He lifted his head, breathing in the icy air and cool, fresh scent of alpine flowers. Feeling the bird’s struggling, the man lifted the eagle up and … let him go! The bird stretched his wings and soared across the valley until he was a tiny speck against the distant mountains.
The eagle had realized his destiny.
And you, as a Christian, must realize yours.
I have to confess, Lord, that sometimes I act like an eagle in a chicken coop. But I am a child of God! May I realize my destiny as I focus on the immense wonder of eternity and breathe in celestial air.
