Two recent conversations struck me funny. One person asked, "How do you know which group is God’s people?" The other asked, "Who calls a person to be a pastor? the people? the elders? or God?" Answers to both questions depend upon your view of religion. Is it a personal or corporate thing? This little story may clarify.
There were two baby eagles in the nest, all alone for several days. Their parents went to forage for food and never returned. Perhaps they were now trophies displayed in some great hunters den. Meanwhile the eaglets realized they were now on their own. They must do something if they were to survive.
It was a big drop over the side of the nest. But they must risk it. It would be their first flight. As the went into the air their wings weren’t strong enough to give them flight, but enough to gently take them to the ground. They landed near the edge of the forest where a flock of turkeys were assembled.
Now, how many of you know that turkeys always stay in a flock. The focus of their lives is pecking out a daily living. They are short sighted, so they never plan ahead. When there is danger they run for cover. Once a turkey always a turkey.
But as turkeys go, this flock that was assembled were a nice bunch. As a group they were very friendly. They looked out for one another. They had compassion for the baby eagles, who had landed. So they raised and nurtured them to be good little turkeys. They taught them to focus on earning a daily living and fitting into the group. The little eaglets, also were taught not to take risk or challenge authorities. As they grew they became very good at keeping their beaks to the grindstone. Even their religious views remained inward, regional and self-serving. The good little turkey eaglets helped the leaders maintain control over the entire flock. The future seemed secure and all was right in the world. Or so it seemed.
One day one of the turkey eaglets, who was now a pastor, was fired from his job. The elders thought he was getting to big for his feathers, when he begin to examine and question certain traditions in the church. At the same time, the other turkey eaglet asked his pastor if God ever talked to him and if so, how did the pastor know it was God talking. The pastor was very upset with his question and told him not to concern himself with that question. The elders would decide for him.
Days later the two young turkey eaglets were walking near the edge of the forest. Both were filled with despair. Inside them they ache to learn more about God. More then just what was found in books written by turkeys. While they were good little turkeys inside, there still beat the heart of an eagle inside.
As they walked they noticed a great bird soaring high in the sky. Eagles can see far ahead and always forage for food for the days ahead. When there is trouble they rise far above it and only swoop down for survival. As they watched they heard, "Who, who!" When they looked up they saw a wise old owl. In life, we are fortunate to meet such beings filled with wisdom.
The old owl asked if they knew who that was soaring so high in the sky. They anxiously said they did not. The owl replied that it was an eagle, the greatest bird in the sky. The turkey eaglets were awestruck. The owl asked if they knew they were just like that bird. Oh no! They were good little comfortable turkeys with degrees from good turkey schools. You know the ones that teach people to be exactly like everyone else.
But their curiosity got the best of them. Perhaps their eagle hearts pumped a little faster. They asked how they could know for sure if they were in fact like the great soaring eagle. The wise teacher told them to go out of the forest into the field and begin flapping their wings. So they did. As they stretched and flapped the turkeys in the forest were highly agitated. How could they go against tradition and all the elders wisdom? As the flapped they slowly begin to rise and as they rose they got braver and braver. As they got braver they flew higher and higher, until they were soaring like the great bird. They had become eagles! Each of us has to live with turkeys, but we don’t have to let them keep us from soaring like eagles.
God calls pastors to congregations. The elders may examine and determine the terms of call. The people may confirm God’s call on a person. But, only God can take a person away. The elders may ask it, but only the people can confirm it. Of course, I write of eagle style organizations and not the ones run by turkeys.
God speaks to people and only those people know if God is speaking to them. How? If it comes true it must have been from God. If not it wasn’t. Do I speak the word of God? Only time determines if a person was a eagle. Most eagles in the Bible, and particularly the chief eagle, were rejected by the religious turkeys of their day. But eagles don’t acted on things according to how turkeys will react. They act on things because that is what they feel God wants them to do. And until they act they will never know if it was from God. That doesn’t scare eagles, but it frightens the heck out of turkeys.
The world is in a great disarray over the religious conflicts scattered all over the planet. Why? The turkeys are in control and the eaglets are either afraid or indifferent. Why? Greed? Power? Fame? Or anyone of the thousands of underlying motivations of sin.
Its time foe a modern day Abraham or Moses to say, "Lets flap our wings and rise above these turkeys."
(I want to thank an old friend a Southern Baptist preacher and author for the basics of the turkey eagle story. His name is Peter Lord. He told me to say, "This is Lord’s story!")
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