Are you living a mediocre Christian life? Have you resigned to accept your ‘ho-hum’ existence, not knowing that God has a glorious adventure planned specifically for you?
I’m reminded of a Native American fable, shared by Dwight Edwards in the book Experiencing Christ within, about a young brave who happened upon a nest of golden eagle eggs. Deciding to have some fun, he took one of the eggs and placed it in the nest of some prairie chickens. The egg hatched and the changeling eagle grew up with the brood of prairie chickens. Believing he was like everyone else around him, he behaved accordingly. He clucked and cackled and scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to live on. He never flew more than a few feet off the ground since prairie chickens are incapable of rising any higher.
Years passed. One day the young eagle was scratching along with one of his older prairie chicken brothers when a fleeting shadow passed over them. They looked up and saw, high in the sky, the soaring form of something gliding on the currents of the wind.
“What a beautiful bird!” the young eagle exclaimed. “That’s an eagle” the older brother informed him, “a golden eagle. He is king of the air. No bird can compare with him.” Then he lowered his gaze and added, “But don’t give it a second thought, you could never be like him”. And back to scratching they went. The little eagle never gave that soaring sight another thought. According to the fable he died as he had lived, never rising any higher than a prairie chicken’s existence.
Tragically, this same story is repeated in the lives of far too many believers. Like eagles, we were created and redeemed to mount up on God-given wings. Our privilege is to breathe the clear crisp air of knowing God more intimately, to know the thrill of unrestrained worship, and to abandon ourselves to the high adventure of fulfilling the calling uniquely designed for our life. This is our God-given design, and that is why we are never truly satisfied with anything less. We will never find the intense fulfillment of our souls while scratching around in worldly living, and mediocre spirituality. We were made, and fully equipped at the time of our conversion, to soar.
You can begin today living out your God-given purpose. At Alliance Ministries, we use The 210 Project as a tool to help Christ followers soar. We encourage you to simply engage with us! The online process allows you to explore your personality, your spiritual gifts, passions, and how your personal life story intersects God’s story. These practical exercises will give you greater insight into God’s calling on your life and where He may be calling you to serve Him and to love others.
The 210 Project book explains, “Within each sphere of our lives, we are driven by passions. Our passions come from our vision of life, our dreams, hopes, and importantly, our deepest desires. We then combine our passions with our abilities, which include our experiences, talents, and others skills we’ve learned both formally and informally. Out of this combination of our passion and abilities, opportunities come our way. Sometimes opportunities present themselves serendipitously and other times as the result of our effort and persistence. At times we stand back amazed because we know that God has intervened and presented the challenge in a supernatural way. These opportunities represent chances for us to express our passions and abilities, in ways consistent with what is needed in specific situations, and consistent with who we are, and what we care about.”
You must take the first step to start the momentum toward finding your life’s calling. Today is the day to leave the ranks of prairie chickens, and soar with the eagles – after all, you were made for nothing less!
Carmen Pate is a Principal with Alliance Ministries. Learn more about The 210 Project at https://www.210project.com/
