Scripture: Luke 5:18-26
An eagle egg was separated from its mother and found by a hen, who nurtured and cared for it until the moment it hatched.
From the moment he was born, the little eagle realized that he was different from everyone else that he was around. The other chickens also noticed that he was different and so they made fun of the little eagle.
The little eagle grew up hating how he looked and more importantly, he hated who he was. He lived each day praying and hoping that he could be more like a chicken.
One day the little eagle looked in the sky and he saw a large eagle soaring above. He looked at this graceful figure and admired how it commanded the air. The little eagle went to bed that night and dreamed about flying like an eagle.
Despite his dreams, he stayed on that farm for the rest of his life and jumped around like a chicken because he was surrounded by chickens and because of who he surrounded himself with, he limited himself.
Some of us have been made to soar and do much more, but instead of soaring like eagles, we are living like chickens because we’ve surrounded ourselves with chickens.
In our text, we see a man that was unable to walk, but he associated himself with men that were physically strong. Some of us aren’t soaring because we spend too much time with people that have the same weakness as we do. For us to do better, we must see better, and we must spend time with people that will make us better. We must make sure that we surround ourselves with Christians who are operating in the manner that we hope to be in.
Jesus healed this man and He also forgave him of his sins. Many of us fail to achieve success because we haven’t forgiven people in our past. Some of us are still holding on to memories of past jobs or relationships. For us to achieve success we must learn to forgive.
Forgiveness is required for you to soar because you can’t soar if you are carrying baggage. When we forgive others, we are really saying that, “I no longer give you the power to control who I am, how I think and how I will behave”.
After Jesus healed this man, the man picked up his bed and went away. This man had been relegated and held in bondage lying on his bed. If we allow God, He will give us power over the thing that once oppressed us. The Bible says that who the son has set free is free indeed.
Jesus healed the cripple man and forgave him of his sins. The Bible tells us that this man was blessed, not only because of his faith, but because of the faith of the men that brought him.
For you to soar, you must have the right expectation, have the spirit of forgiveness, be willing to do the work and finally you must surround yourself with people that are ready to soar.
You can not expect to soar like eagles if you surround yourself with chickens.
The Rev. Marvin MacKenzie is the senior pastor of Walker Temple AME Church, located at 2525 Trinity St., in Los Angeles, To learn more, call (213) 747-7454.
