What is freedom? Freedom, simply put, is living life as it was intended to be lived… at its fullest. Let me explain. We have a zoo here in Albuquerque that possesses one of the most majestic and honored fowls upon the planet; the beautiful American bald eagle. This eagle lives in a completely protected and controlled environment to insure its longevity. The temperature is kept at an optimum. He has at his disposal the best food and medical attention that money can buy. It might seem that this eagle lives the dream life, pampered, protected and spoiled. But does he? He rarely has the opportunity, or desire for that matter, to fully extend his beautiful and powerful wings, and has no need for the use of his famously precise eyesight. He is limited in flight by the fifty feet diameter of his owner’s cage. Flying and hunting in the wild is only a distant dream, one that he will never see become reality. He is only a mere shell, symbol, and shadow of his true identity.
However, there is another bald eagle that lives some two thousand miles away in one of the most unfriendly environments on the planet, Alaska. It is home to the most brutal race ever invented, the Iditarod and the most feared animal in this hemisphere, the grizzly bear. He daily competes with other eagles for food, not to mention other species of animals and fowl. Should he be wounded or become ill or sick, he has no medical attention to rush to his side. The weather is extreme; incredibly cold in winter, and surprisingly hot and humid in summer. He builds his home in the jagged rocks of steep cliffs, and is alone in the world as sole protector and provider. However, his opportunities are as vast as the open sky, and limited only by his own will. He overcomes his obstacles with the far-reaching strength of his eyes, the flight of his broad wings, and the power of his beak and talons. There is no fence to hem him in, or cage to keep him back. He can fly from the Pacific coast of California to the Everglade swamps of Florida in less than four weeks time. In flight there is no other creature more admired for the freedom with which he soars, seemingly untouchable far above the fray of earth!
This is true freedom! No cages, no guarantees, no safety net – just living, breathing, trusting, believing, and fighting to stay free, to live free, as God created us to live! Yes! Life is at its best when it is free to achieve, grow, succeed, and function in the fullness of life. “I came that they might have life…and that they might have it more abundantly!” John 10:10
Live Wise,
Pastor LaVaughn
