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A common parable used in sermons or motivational speeches is the story of an eagle who thought he was a chicken.

It tells of an eagle’s egg which somehow got mixed in with the eggs of a mother hen. So when the eagle hatched, he adapted to his surroundings, eventually believing he was a chicken!

A naturalist visited the farm where he lived one day, and was shocked to find an eagle pecking on the ground for food. The farmer told him there was no hope changing the eagle since he honestly believed that he was a chicken.

The naturalist tried twice to get the eagle to fly, only to have him return to the safety of his chicken coop. It was only after he took the eagle to the mountains and threw him off a ledge that the eagle began to fly.

This story has a powerful lesson…..

Some of us are eagles spiritually, but live like chickens!

Today is good Friday, the day that we remember the death of Christ. Of course, as Christians we also look forward to Easter Sunday when Jesus rose from the dead! By doing this, Christ gained the victory over Satan and death.

Now He offers to us the victory gained through the cross and His resurrection.

We simply have to claim it by faith.

But we also have to live in that victory.

Sadly Christians (eagles) are surrounded by wicked people (chickens) who constantly tempt us to compromise. Being surrounded by chickens makes it so easy for us to very slowly become like one of them ourselves. Over time, instead of experiencing the victory we have in Christ, we find ourselves hunting for pieces of corn in the dirt!

In moments like these we must remember who we are

We aren’t chickens….

We are eagles who have been given the victory by our risen Savior.

Like the eagle in the story we are often controlled by our surroundings. It was only after the naturalist took him to the mountains away from his comfortable chicken coop that the eagle realized how he was.

This easter weekend may the Lord help us leave the farmyard spiritually. May we climb the mountain of the Gospel, and take in he glory that has been given to us by faith.

For it is only then that we can remember who we are.

and fly.