By

Shelby G. Floyd

 

The people of God are compared to many things in the teaching of Jesus. He used many parables, allegories, and similes to describe the people of God. But one of the most striking images to which servants of God are compared is the Eagle!

THE EAGLE FAMILY

Now let us take a look at the Eagle family. Perhaps we can learn a lot about our family by studying the Eagle family. It is like our Eagle Father and Mother. And the Bible pictures God looking out for his people in many ways like a father and a mother.
God the Father and Mother Eagle Protect Their Children As Christians we begin our spiritual life a lot like baby eagles. And hopefully as we grow and develop in the Christian life, ultimately, we will soar into heaven itself to the presence of God and our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:1-3).

God the Father Eagle protects his children by covering them with his everlasting wings. King David described God’s care for us under the figure of the Eagle wings:

He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler. (Psalms 91:4 NKJV).

Chickens are related to the bird family. I can remember as a little boy my parents would order baby chickens and they would come on the Greyhound bus. They would come in a cardboard box with many peep holes, and you could hear them peeping. We would pick them up and start feeding and watering them each day. One day a powerful rainstorm was coming, and I remember the mother hen clucking for those little chicks to come under her wings. Her wings protected them from the rainstorm, or they would have drowned. And that gives us a picture of how God the father and mother Eagle protect us under his everlasting wings of divine providence!

God the Father and Mother Eagle Feed Their Children

The Eagle parents must work together to feed their young eagles that they may grow. One of them will watch the nest while the other searches for food. They work together to take care of their children just like a father and mother must work together today to take care of their children.

God the spiritual Father must also feed his children spiritual food so like baby eagles we may grow and then soar high into the heavens. God the father Eagle feeds us his spiritual food when we open up our heart-mouth wide and take it in. David the psalmist alluded to this idea in one of his songs:

I am the LORD your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Psalms 81:10).

Today, fathers and mothers are very careful and make sure that their children receive healthy food so that they may grow strong. There is a strong emphasis on keeping unhealthy snacks and drinks from the children. Jesus alluded to the spiritual food that every child of God needs when he spoke to the people in the sermon on the Mount:

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:9-11).

Therefore, God our spiritual father and mother wants to make sure that his spiritual children receive the pure word of God, unadulterated by the doctrines and precepts of men. He wants us to grow to be strong spiritual children in his eternal kingdom. And God feeds his young Christians the milk of the word and then later on we may advance to strong meat (1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:12-14). The church purchased with the precious blood of Jesus is God’s family. We need to make sure we are his spiritual children in his spiritual family.

GOD PROTECTS US WITH HIS EVERLASTING WINGS

Almighty God placed parents to work together to protect their children physically, mentally, and spiritually. With this protection children are free to play and have fun as children should be able to do. They do not have to worry about their care. And that is not happening in many places today because the father and mother is often absent from the home.

But as God’s spiritual children we do not need to worry about our security. Almighty God protects us with his everlasting wings. King David alluded to this idea in one of his Psalms:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler. (Psalms 91:1-4).

Therefore, as God’s spiritual children we do not need to worry for God our spiritual Eagle will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Copyright © 2024 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

 

Shelby G. Floyd delivered this sermon, Eagle Christians, February 25, 2024, at the Heartland Church of Christ, 1693 West Main Street, Greenwood, Indiana 46142.