Eagles have always fascinated me. Their courage, bravery and strength is inspiring. No wonder the eagle is our national symbol.

Eagles build their nests high among the timberline. When it is time to teach the eaglets to fly, the mother eagle stirs up the nest. The eaglet stumbles out in the process without a parachute, but mother eagle doesn't abandon her child. At just the right time she swoops down and catches her offspring on her wing and flies back to the nest. The lessons are repeated until the eaglet can soar. Eagles live lengthy, vigorous lives. At the end of a certain period of time, eagles molt and renew their youth.

The Bible has many references to this beautiful, stately bird. The eagle's swiftness of flight reminds me of Psalm 143:9: "Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me."

In times of trial, I run to hide under the "shadow of the Almighty." He is my fortress. He is my strength when weary and fainthearted. He holds me up as eagles' wings. The strength of eagles' wings reminds me of Exodus 19:4: "Every one of you has seen what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw how I carried you out of Egypt, as if on eagles' wings." (NIV) When I stumble and fall, the Lord keeps lifting me up until I too, learn to soar.

The eagle builds its nest on a high mountain cliff. I build my hopes and dreams in God, my "high tower." There I am safe. "For you are my refuge, a high tower where my enemies can never reach me" (Psalm 61:4 TLB).

Psalm 103:5 "satisfies me with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Another favorite passage is Isaiah 40:31: "Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar like wings on eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (NIV)

God created eagles to soar to the mountain tops. He created you and I to do the same thing. We sometimes allow the problems of life to "clip" our wings. We become frustrated. We allow past hurts, problems and bitterness to hold us back. To not forgive someone is harboring a bitter poison. If we have a forgiving spirit, we can always find something to be thankful for in the offense.

Someone has defined forgiveness as the "scent flowers give when they are trampled on."

A secular humanist made this remark: "What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness. I have no one to forgive me."

We cannot live wrong and die right. There is no guarantee for tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. The depths of God's love for you is indescribable. To commit to Him is life's highest calling. It is the only way to peace. It is the purpose of life. Hope can never be lost, for believers have a God of endless hope. The light of the glorious gospel is an eternal flame, lighting the way for the hopeless soul. He is truly faithful. The same One who triumphed at Calvary paved the way for you and for me.

Most of us go to the grave without really enjoying life to the fullest. Life is meant to live, not survive. Discover God's goal and purpose for your life and pursue that purpose with diligence and commitment.

We have two choices:

1. Scratch in the dirt with the turkeys.

2. Rise up in Jesus and soar with the eagles.

Those who follow Jesus fly with joy on wings of love.