Eagle Christians
Scripture: Exodus 19:4; John 13:15; 14:15-17; Psalm 57:1
The last time I stood before you I talked about “Vulture Christians”. This morning I want to elevate us and talk about Eagle Christians. As you listen to my message this morning, I want you to remember what I told you a couple of weeks ago about vulture Christians as compared to what I will share with you today about what it means to be a Christian with the same characteristics as an eagle.
The eagle is one of the most majestic animals in the animal kingdom. It is mentioned throughout Scripture in examples of the goodness of God and how He relates to His children. For example, when God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, He said to the people in Exodus 19:4, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.” Also, in Deuteronomy 32:9-11 it says, “(9) For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. (10) He found him in a desert land, and in the howling wasteland of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. (11) As an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young, He spread His wings, He caught them, He carried them on His pinions.” In these verses, God (and Moses) used the characteristics of an eagle to describe how He (God) brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt and how He would continue to watch over them (as an eagle does her fledgling) if they obeyed His commandments. The Church is compared to baby chicks which the mother cherishes and protects under her wings. Isaiah confirmed this when he wrote, “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) I will talk about this Scripture in more detail as I discuss the eagle’s characteristics that should be present in our lives. As before with the message on vulture Christians, I want you to ask yourself throughout this message, “Am I living like an eagle?”
Trains it’s young to emulate them. The first trait that I want to mention about the eagle is how it trains its young to be like them. The eagle trains up her young, which are called eaglets or fledglings, to be like herself and to mount as she mounts. It is believed that when the eaglet is ready to leave the nest the parent shoves them out of the nest. If they fly, they fly. If not, then they hit the ground with a mighty crash. While there is a 40% mortality rate amongst eagles taking their first flight, this is still lower than other birds. Also, for eagles, the transition from nest-bound adolescence to soaring adulthood is a gradual process that, according to ornithologists, relies on a combination of benevolent manipulation and guided experimentation. Ornithologists have observed eagles coaxing, even taunting, their young from the nest, rather than just giving them a shove. When the fledgling eagle is almost ready to fly, parents have been observed to swoop by the nest with a fresh kill. Instead of landing in the nest as usual to share the meal, the parent lands near the nest and eats in plain view of its squawking, hungry teenager. This behavior continues until the fledgling is hungry enough to venture out of the nest, at which point the parent will share its food. This taunting behavior creates the appetite and incentive necessary for the fledgling to venture out of the nest of its own volition in pursuit of what it wants. Their goal is not to get rid of their child, but to encourage its independence.
Christians are to do the same. We all know that Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” However, even though we know we are supposed to do this, we often allow them to figure it out on their own. Think about this, how many parents sit down with their child and teach them about Jesus, expanding on the lessons as the child ages. As the child grows how many parents teach their children about relationships? About money management, saving and making purchases when they can be afforded versus when they are desired? How many parents teach their children about respect for others and the environment around them? All of these subjects fall under the directions that Solomon gave when he said we should “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” The parent eagles do their best to prepare their fledglings for flight, but in the end they know it is up to them. We must prepare our children to leave the house and give them the best chance for success. Let’s continue.
Eagles Rejuvenate Themselves. Remember what was recorded in Isaiah 40:31? It says, “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength! Well, let me share the second trait about the eagle – it can rejuvenate itself. When an eagle is old, its eyesight dims and its feathers and wings become heavy. To rejuvenate itself, the eagle flies up to the region of the sun, which burns away the mist over its eyes and burns off its old feathers. The eagle then plunges three times into water, and its youth is restored. Also as a result of age, the eagle's beak grows until it can no longer eat; by striking it against a rock, the eagle breaks its beak which then grows back. The eagle knows how to extend its life and rejuvenate itself. Well, as a Christian, we too can rejuvenate ourselves spiritually. There are many times when we feel like we have been beaten and our bodies drained of strength – but that is not the end. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” A Christian, spiritually, is like the eagle. Our outer body might be wearing away, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day. And guess what, just as the eagle flies towards the “sun” to help in its rejuvenation, we too must turn to the “Son” for our renewal. Our renewed strength comes from the Lord. If you are not feeling renewed, ask yourself are you living like the eagle? This trait leads us to the third train – the eagle’s ability to look directly at the sun.
Eagle Can Look Directly at the Sun: Historians say that the eagle can look on the sun in its brightest splendor without being dazzled. This is one of the traits that separates the eagle from other birds, and it is a trait that eagles use to determine if their children are truly theirs. Yes, you heard me correctly. In bringing up her children, one of the ways in which the mother determines if the young ones are her true offspring is if they too can look directly at the sun. If they cannot behold the sun without winking or their eyes watering, she kicks them out of her nest and disowns them. Now I really want you to understand this picture. We know in the animal kingdom that sometimes birds will lay their eggs in another’s nest and those chicks when they hatch will be treated as if they are a true offspring. This is not the case with the eagle. The eagle tests her offspring to ensure that they are at least an eagle. The mother has her fledgling look at the sun and if the fledgling can maintain its stare at the sun then they will be allowed to remain in the nest. However, if this is not the case, that fledgling will be determined to be false and will be kicked out of the nest.
Do you know that as Christians this should be our sole test for those we choose to listen to? We should know if they are able to look at the “Son” and by doing so, follow Him. If they are not able to look at the Son and follow Him, they should be kicked out of our “nest of influence” until such time as there is alignment of beliefs. You see, when we listen to people whose moral compass is flawed because they seem to be looking at the Son, but in reality, they are not, and their advice to us will likewise be flawed because they are not receiving their advice from the same source as we are. I just took a leap of faith with that statement. The leap was that you are reading the Bible for yourselves and you able to recognize wrong doctrine when you hear it. There are many fake Christians out there trying to convince people that they love Jesus, but when you examine their lives, you can easily determine that they are seldom looking at Him. And when they are looking at Jesus, they seldom truly see Him. We cannot look to Jesus and not be impacted by what we see. Now here is my final point: on the Day of Judgment, Jesus will be just like that mother eagle – separating out those who belong to Him versus those who “thought” they belonged to Him and don’t. Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, “(22) Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ (23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” There are many people who believe they are Christians because they have been baptized, but their lives and their hearts remain far from Christ. Are you looking at the Son? Are those around you looking at Him? If you are, you’re sharing the trait of an Eagle Christian.
Protects its Young: The next trait I want to share with you pertains to how the eagle protects its young. Now you might be thinking that there is nothing unique about an eagle taking care of its young as that is something that most animals do in the animal kingdom. Well, let’s talk about that for a moment. Remember what God told the Children of Israel when He brought them out of Egypt? Exodus 19:4 records, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.” Historians tell us that the eagle bears and carries her young upon her wings and shields them, when necessary, beneath her wings. We have heard stories about how God took care of someone and how He made a way out of no way. These are not just stories, but true acts of God's nature. God does the same thing with each of us. Isaiah 46:3-4 also says “(3) Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb: (4) even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” Isaiah was relaying God's message to His people that He was the one who sustained them, from the time they were born until their old age. The definition of sustain is “to keep in existence; maintain or prolong; to carry the weight of…” Are you starting to see this picture? David also understood what it meant to be under God's protection for he fled to God on several occasions for shelter. David said in Psalms 57:1, “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me. For my soul takes refuge in Thee; and in the shadow of Thy wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by.”
The Eagle also, for protection, hides her young in high and mighty rocks, where her nest is. These rocks are often inaccessible to other animals that would endanger the eagle's young. The eagle understands what is necessary to protect her young and she ensures that all precautions are taken. Spiritually, God does the same with us. Consider what Isaiah said in Isaiah 33:16: “….His refuge will be an impregnable rock.” Job 39:27-29 records, “(27) Does the eagle mount up at your command, And make its nest on high? (28) On the rock it dwells and resides, On the crag of the rock and the stronghold. (29) From there it spies out the prey; Its eyes observe from afar.” The idea expressed is that if you are situated high upon a hill fortified with rocks, it would be extremely difficult for your enemies to attack you successfully from the ground. The rocks would make it almost impossible to climb with any great success. I really like the imagery that is presented in Ephesians 2:6 – “and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Like the eagle protecting her young, God is protecting us. We may not always be aware of everything He is doing, but He is very active in our lives.
Are you living like an eagle? Before I close I want to share with you why this message is so important for us today. New Light, time is running out. We are running out of time to prepare ourselves and our children for what comes next – and I am not talking about graduations, college, jobs, marriage, etc. I am talking about what happens when Christ returns or if we should leave this earth before He returns. Jesus said that people will be living their normal life when He returns and will be surprised. He said in Luke 17:26-30, “(26) And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: (27) they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; (29) but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. (30) Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” Jesus said people will be doing normal things when He returns and that will cause some of them to miss heaven because they were not ready.
When you look at the traits of the eagle, they all point to looking upward and being prepared – not only for themselves, but also for their young. The eagle trains their young to follow in their footsteps. They prepare them to fly knowing that it will be up to each to flap their wings when they leave the nest. If they flap their wings in their certainty of emulating their parents, they will fly. If they freeze up and/or forget what they were taught, changes are they will not live through their first flight. We get one chance at this life and we must prepare ourselves and our children to be ready to take flight when the time comes. The other fact I want to close with is the eagle’s ability to look directly at the sun. This ability is also used to determine if their offspring is truly theirs. When we stand before Jesus on the Day of Judgment, it will be comforting to know that we can look at the Son without blinking or turning our heads away in shame. We will be able to do this because He is our Lord and Savior. But the questions we must ask ourselves today is, “Am I looking at the Son and are my children looking at the Son?” We cannot look to Jesus without being changed by Who we see. We cannot look to Jesus and not feel something on the inside because He is looking back at us. We cannot look at Jesus and walk away the same way unless we did not see Him at all. If you are not looking at Jesus chances are great that your children are not either. Are we preparing our children for what comes next like the eagles does her fledgling? My daughter sent the family a text this week that said, “I am available any day this month for the rapture.” Are you? If you are living like an eagle, you are.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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