Coffee Stains: Are You a Wild Goose… Or a Chicken?

Somewhere I heard a story that went kind of like this: A farmer found a young wild goose which had an injured wing.

He put it into the pen with his chickens. The goose suffered at first but gradually his wing healed and he got used to the life of the chicken house. He started to act like a chicken. He loved the corn that the farmer threw to them each day and slowly but surely, he even forgot that he knew how to fly. And he wanted to please the chickens around him, so he scratched the earth and ate grasshoppers and worms with them (yuk!) Experience taught him not to displease the other chickens and for sure to leave the rooster alone. They thought chickens were the best animals of all and they persecuted or shunned everything that was different from them. (A little note here: chickens are great with mashed potatoes or if you need some eggs laid, but when they run the world, watch out!)

One day, though, a far-away call shook the heart of the young goose. He looked up to see a formation of wild geese flying high, high above, heading south for the winter. And something in the song of these strange creatures spoke to him, saying, “You weren‘t made for the chicken house. God made you to fly high and travel to distant places.” He felt the emotion so strongly, that he flapped his wings and honked. He felt that if he ran a bit and jumped that he could fly, too. But, then he looked at the chickens around him and he said to himself, “You‘ve got it good here, buddy. You don‘t have to constantly look for something to eat, nor dodge danger.” When he looked up again, though, his eyes were transfixed by these magnificent birds, singing and advancing in their “v” formation. His heart turned traitor to the hen house. “You‘re not a chicken! God didn‘t make you for the farm yard. You‘re created for something other than scratching dirt and eating those sorry grasshoppers. Even if the chickens can be happy with a life like that, you can‘t. You were made for something else.”

You We Made For Something Else

Lots of people live their lives like our “fowl friends”, the chickens. They do what everyone else does; they accept their ideas without thinking too much about it. “Everyone believes it, everyone does it,” is their gospel. The chickens of this world cackle, “You‘ll find the meaning of life in a relationship, or maybe it‘s money. If it‘s not that, it‘s probably the admiration of others that you need or maybe … or maybe … or maybe.” And at the end, the chickens end up yodeling the melody of the old Peggy Lee song, “Is that all there is, is that all there is? If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing. Let’s break out the booze and have a ball. If that’s all there is.” Lots of drunk, dancing chickens in this world. Frankly, chickens act like they‘ve got it together but they don‘t really know how to fly. But you, you hear this far-away voice that calls you to something higher, “You weren‘t created for the henhouse. What are you doing there, scratching grass like a hen?” And you have a powerful desire to know God. A wild song in the deepest part of your being calls you to Him. It‘s like a fellow name Augustine noted, many years ago, “You made us for yourself, Lord and our hearts will never be at rest until we find our rest in You.” This song of the wild draws us to Him. How can you know God personally, like that? From the bottom of your heart pray to God in the Name of Jesus the Christ. Ask forgiveness for your sins with the desire to quit them. You can‘t live like a wild goose life in the henhouse. “Repent.” (Acts 2:38)

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8, 9)

Then believe in the Lord Jesus. Believe that what He did at the Cross is enough to save you. He died in your place. He rose again by the power of His Father.

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “˜Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.‘ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, 10, NIV)

Call on Him today, in repentance and faith. He‘ll be sure to hear you and you can begin to soar and fly. He created you for that.

Hmmm …

“The presence of God is the central fact of Christianity. At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His children to push in to conscious awareness of His presence.”- A.W.