WORTH MORE THAN YOU THINK
by Pastor Gene Wells
Here is a story I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy it.
An American Indian tells about a Brave who found an Eagle’s egg and put it in the nest of a Prairie Chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
All his life, the changeling Eagle, thinking he was a Prairie Chicken, did what Prairie Chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all that’s how Prairie Chickens were supposed to fly.
Years passed, and changeling Eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird from above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. “What a wonderful bird!” said the changeling Eagle to his neighbor. What is it? “That’s an Eagle the chief of birds.” the neighbor clucked. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And he died thinking it was a Prairie Chicken.
Lots of people grow up not knowing who they are and what they are meant to be. They see themselves as second class citizens and just exist. Over my many years of Ministry, I have come across young people who graduate from High School and flounder about with little or no direction and living without purpose. They are like the changeling Eagle, they live far below their capabilities.
But the good news is, you and I are meant for greatness. We are made to soar with the Eagles and embrace the grace of our God. Do you know how valuable you are? Paul says, you and I were “bought with a price.” Christ died for YOU. God has stamped into your very being his own image. The Psalmist asked in Psalm 8:4 “what is man that you are mindful of him?” He answers the question in verse 5 “you made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor.” Do you know if God owned a refrigerator your picture would be on it. You are very important to our God.
You can maximize the greatness you were created to be by stepping into a life lived in Jesus Christ. Jesus can take the gifts and talents you have and use them far beyond your expectations. Jesus can stop the drifting, aimlessness and put purpose and direction into your life. He can give you his Holy Spirit to empower and use you in ways you never dreamed possible. Stop acting like a chicken and come soar with the eagles. You won’t regret it.