Philippians 1:21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
Have you every wondered if there is anything happening in your life that has purpose? Some say to soul search is a dangerous thing and they could be right because you may not like what you find there. For those who are believers the soul search reveals Jesus in your heart and that is a satisfying peace that cannot be equalted by anything else. Paul wrote above that life itself and living for Christ means really living and added that dying is even better. When your life is immersed in Jesus and Him alone it changes everything for each of us and a process begins to takes place and that process when completed allow us to see Jesus and ourselves fully. The road up to that point is filled with numerous potholes, with some deep and some shallow. But they are still "unexpected" potholes that throw us around quite a bit.
On this pilgrimage of life we can either recognize those potholes as something to grow us in the Lord at our core of just another series of distractions that keep us from soaring. Somewhere along the way we realize that we must throw off some of the things that have long held us from soaring and start fresh to finish strong. Everytime we hit a pothole we can either think "Oh that is there to help me get strong at absorbing potholes" or "I need to find a better road." Jesus is that better road and following Him should put us in a position to maximize who we are and what our life "should" look like. Here is the story of Eagle and how it handles these situations.
The Eagle Story... Changes For Survival....
EAGLE Can Live Up To 70 Years, But To Reach This Age, The Eagle Must Make A Hard Decision In Its' 40'S Its' Long & Flexible Talons Can No Longer Grab Prey Which Serves As Food, Its' Long & Sharp Beak Becomes Bent It's Old-Aged & Heavy Wings, Due To Their Thick Feathers, Become Stuck To Its' Chest & Make It Difficult To Fly Then Eagle Is Left With Only 2 Options: Die Or Go Through A Painful Process Of Change Which Lasts 150 Days. The Process Requires That Eagle Fly To A Mountain & The Eagle Knocks Its' Beak Against A Rock Until It Plucks It Out After This, Eagle Will Wait For A New Beak To Grow Back. When Its' New Talons Grow Back, The Eagle Starts Plucking Its' Old-Aged Feathers & After 5 Months, Eagle Can Take Its' Flight Of Rebirth & Lives For 30 More Years.
Moral of the story - Many Times, In Order To Survive, We Have To Start A Change Process. We Sometimes Need To Get Rid Of Old Memories, Habits & Other Past Traditions. Only Freed From Past Burdens,We Can Take Advantage Of The Present.
So Paul continued on in the following verses to follow the above scripture. 25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me. There is more to do and more to experience and a smoother road is possible with Jesus as your guide. His guidance keeps you moving and growing on this thing called The Pilgrimage.
The Pilgrimage continues....
David Warren
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