WINGS AS EAGLES

100 years!! Praise the Lord, John Lineberry celebrated his 100th birthday this past week. He is a faithful servant of the Lord, and God has given him an abundance of spiritual wisdom. John has truly lived out a life of sustained service for Christ, and in this article, we see a glimpse of why this was possible.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint"  (Isaiah 40:31).   

The secret of sustained service for Christ is renewed strength. In the power of a constantly revived spirit, a Christian is enabled daily to walk a path of surrender and service.    

The Lord's comparison of our renewal in strength to the vigorous power and stamina of the Eagle is significant.  The American bald Eagle, for example, is a wondrous symbol of freedom and power.  With its wingspan of more than six feet, it can soar upward into the sky with ease.  Likewise, the believer is exhorted "to seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1) as he mounts up his spiritual wings.     

The eagle has remarkable vision.  Its eyes function as both wide-angle and telescopic lenses, capable of following the trail of a field mouse a quarter of a mile away or tracing the slight ripple of water indicating the presence of a muskrat. The eagle can also distinguish more shades of color than a human and judge fine degrees of perspective. Humans have only binocular vision.  The eagle has both binocular and monocular vision.  To coordinate the images it sees, the eagle has two small depressions at the back of each retina forming the points of sharpest vision.  The eagle's eyes work independently of each other, so that it is able to focus on objects to its left, right, and straight ahead. According to Ephesians 5:15, the Lord has also given unusual spiritual vision to the believer: "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise."  The word "circumspectly" means seeing all around on all sides at all times. With that kind of spiritual vision, the believer can properly perceive the world's doom and destiny and understand the nature of its secular philosophies.  

In flight, the eagle often escapes danger by riding a protective air current or by being lifted to safety in a thermal updraft.  The believer also finds refuge from the storms of life in Christ's love and protection. 

"From the end of the earth will I cry unto you, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For you have been my shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy" (Ps. 61:2,3).        

As a bird of prey, the eagle has a beak strong enough to break a twenty-pound catfish apart and slice it into pieces.  In addition, the eagle's talons are razor sharp enabling it to cut and rip its prey with ease. The Lord has especially equipped the child of God as well to assure him of triumph over the world, the flesh, and the devil (Eph. 6:16. 17; I John 2:15--17).       

With renewed strength, like the eagle, Christians are able to continue to serve the Lord.  In short, they "shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."