A Goose in the Chicken Coup
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“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while, that goose thought he was a chicken.
One day a gaggle of geese flew overhead, migrating home. They gave a honk up in the sky, and the barnyard goose heard it.
Kierkegaard said, “Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn’t used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the upward call, but he settled for less.”
Is there a chance that this story is about you?
Are you settling for being less than you know in your heart God has called you and created you to be? It’s not just for your sake that you must respond to God’s call on your life — it’s also for all the other meaningful people in your life. The longer you wait before answering, the more annoying your life becomes to those around you. There are few things as disruptive to the peace and well-being of other people than a person who is running from God. How many lives are being distressed because you won’t answer the call?
And besides, are you really that happy clucking with chickens? Really?
There’s no clucking in this barnyard! Even the sky is limitless as long as we believe Our Father has so much more for us within His calling on our lives.
God Bless pastor Ryle for your encouragement.
I wonder if that is really true – REALLY true. I am the most annoying person that everyone I know knows and I have always wondered why. I wonder how one can give up the barnyard then and learn to fly, without giving up when your wings don’t work from never being used….