What’s your vantage point?
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being… By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 2:7, 3:19 NIV)
Eagles and chickens are quite different and these differences show us spiritual inference that helps us to see how we can be successful in our spiritual walk. One important different between a chicken and an eagle is their visual vantage points. A chicken is limited to a ground dwelling living and focus, whereas an eagle has an unlimited visual advantage.
First, the chicken in the wild searches for food and gathers it in her beak. The chicken in the coop gathers food the same way; however, the chicken in the coop does not have to go out searching. The chicken in the coop has to wait to feed on whatever the owner of the coop brings. The chicken that learns to depend on being fed loses the ability to search for itself. The chicken becomes programmed to look downward continually for seed and food spread on the ground to eat. The chicken’s visual becomes constrained because its focus is limited. The chicken becomes programmed to only look for the seed (food) that the farmer or chicken caregiver spreads.
For some coops the chickens may not ever be let out, therefore their perspective is even more restricted, as they can only see what is right in front of them. Some owners may allow the chickens a limited place to roam so they are able to see a little more of their surroundings. Both of these types of chickens however are limited with a downward focus, only seeing the ground.
If we have a chicken mentality we too walk around with a downward focus with a limited vision, unable to see more than what is right in front of us. Our minds are trained to look for the seeds that will continue to keep us captives in the coop. If we don’t learn through God’s Holy Spirit that this is wrong eating, we will continue to keep our eyes to the ground held captive there because of the chicken coop mentality. We will go on with feeding ourselves on the seeds that encourages us to keep our focus on that downward, death-thinking. We need to examine to see what things have caused us to have limited vision. We need to learn to be aware of what conditions are conducive to limited vision and then examine ourselves to see if our vision is limited.
If your thoughts consist of statements like these, then you have a limited vantage point (vision):
- I won’t do anything really great in my life and I’m fine with that.
- I don’t have enough (ability, smarts, money, know-how, connections, etc) to be able to do something spectacular.
- I’m just average, there’s not much that is really different about me.
It was not God’s desire for mankind to have a downward focus. God picked up the dust and created something new out of it, showing us that things that are on the ground can be changed into something different when they are lifted up. A downward focus continues to limit the chicken’s perspective; it is the same with humanity. It is not until we learn to look up, that we really learn to live (Numbers 21:8, John 3:13-15 NIV).
Like the chicken in the coop only knows the coop existence, for many of us the only thing we know is that “ground” thinking. We know how to doubt ourselves. We know how to look at our flaws and see them as insurmountable obstacles. Many of us have not yet learned that with every obstacle, there is a strategy to overcome it.
If it were not for God’s Holy Spirit seeking us and speaking to our downward minds, we would not be able to turn our focus upward to better things. Yet, without the touch of the master’s hand, we will continue to be chickens in the coop clucking along, eating from the ground.
Now let’s look at the kind of vantage the Lord desires us to have, the eagle’s vantage point.
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NIV)
The eagle can fly to high heights. Because of this fact, the eagle can see much more than what the ground dwelling chicken is able to see. The eagle has great eye sight and the capability to see great distances. An eagle’s eye is almost as large as a human’s eye. However, the eagle’s vision is four times sharper than a person with perfect vision. Eagles have two centers of focus; this allows the bird to see both forward and to the side at the same time. This vision allows the bird to see a fish in the water from several hundred feet above, while soaring, gliding or in flapping flight. This is a great ability because fish are darker on top and as a result it is harder to see them from above. The eagle blinks to wipe dirt and dust from the eye, but it can still see because the membrane over the eye is translucent.
The scripture states that when we turn to God the veil is removed. What separated us from God has been lifted. There is no longer any barrier between us. The way the eagle blinks reminds me of an illustration. If you and I close our eyes we can’t see, our eyes are veiled. Yet, when the eagle closes his eyes the membrane is translucent so there is nothing that keeps him from always having a clear vision of what is ahead. When we allow God to have control of our lives He makes it so that we can have continual, unhidden access to His truth, through the Word of God and the helping of the Holy Spirit. There are multiple things that would cause our vision to be veiled (anger, discouragement, rejection, disappointments, focus on our circumstances, etc.). These things get in the way, like the skin over our eyes when we blink, and keep us from seeing the things God desires for us to see.
In order to have this eagle like vision spiritually, we need God to free us from the things that make us heavy in our hearts. These things keep our center of attention on the ground in that downward focus. When we allow God to work in us we can see how to prepare for the walk ahead. God will illuminate our path so that we can have this uncanny ability to see “miles” ahead like the eagle does.
We need God to help us discern spiritually what it is we need so that we can grow. That requires us having the ability like the eagle to see what is in front of us as well as what’s on the side. It also requires us seeking God’s help to remove those things that hinder this ability to see. We need to be able to see from many different angles so that we can understand how to live this life in Christ. Are you able to see clearly through your life situations? Or has your vantage point be limited to the ground because of the things you are focused on? It is time to stop looking at the ground and allow God to unveil the hidden things. Are you ready to change your spiritual vantage point?
