There's a story of a baby bird that had a tough time hatching at birth. This bird's name was Albert and from the beginning he had to fight against all the odds. Odds like not hatching on time, being partially formed, struggling to eat so he could grow, and many other problems that most other birds wouldn't even be able to handle. But Albert was different. He took everything in stride, because he always believed there was a better day ahead for him. Albert's mother was super protective and was scared of Albert falling out of the nest. She would not let Albert anywhere near the edge of their nest for fear he would fall to the earth below and not survive. She protected him from the elements and talked about all the things that were coming his way in the days ahead. She told him about eating worms properly, about his first flight, and about all the dangers in the forest. Day by day she would pour information into his little bird brain, and he absorbed it all with great joy. But the more he learned about life, the more anxious he became about wanting to fly, really fly!
Every day he would start working his way, when his mother wasn't watching, to the edge of the nest so he could get a glimpse of the floor of the forest. Then his mother would see him and direct him back to the safety in the center of the nest. In his heart he knew one day he would get to fly. He just didn't know when.
Every day his mother would go out early in the morning to get food for Albert, and he would awaken to see her flying back in with the latest worm food creation for him to eat. It was a special time every morning for Albert and his mother, and he always looked forward to it. On this particular morning he woke up and noticed his mother was not back yet. He moved toward the edge of the nest to see where she might be, but to his surprise she was nowhere to be seen. He waited for what seemed like hours and still no sign of his mother. Daylight turned to dark as he stayed huddled in the center of the nest, hoping to see his mother fly in at anytime. She didn't. He didn't know that his mother had been killed that day by one of the predators of the forest. She wasn't going to physically be with him anymore.
The next morning he awoke realizing he was very hungry and that something needed to happen to take care of this emptiness in his stomach. He made his way to the edge of the nest and looked over the edge to the earth below. The sight was awesome and scarey. Deep inside he realized his mother was not coming back. He remembered all she had told him about flying and surviving in the forest and even though he was scared, he knew he was going to have to leave the comfort of the nest and fly! He made his way to edge and raised his young wings and thought to himself, "what next?" To his surprise, the little branches at the edge of the nest gave way and he was plummeting toward the earth. His natural instincts kicked in and he started to use his wings to glide and then his downward speed turned into forward motion. He then started moving his wings to handle the speed of the wind and after a few adjustments he was FLYING! Albert, the weak little bird who barely lived was flying. As he flew back over his nest he realized that this was what his mother was preparing him for and now was his time. This was his beginning! Now that he could fly, his life started to change. The dreams of adventures for his life became reality when he started doing what he was made to do. FLY!
In Matthew 10 Jesus sends out the apostles. He gives them everything they need to share the good news that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He had been instructing them about what life is really all about and how to handle life from God's perspective. They were soaking up every word and totally relied on Jesus for everything. His words of instruction were pure and enriching, and their time with him was comforting and encouraging. But now He was asking them to go out in His Name and do as He would do. He also told them to travel light and not worry about the details of money and supplies. He said, "the worker is worthy of his support." In other words, fly......not knowing how God would provide, but just trusting Him with the details. He also warned them about the dangers in the world that they would be sharing this good news in, and that the world wouldn't receive them in a positive way every time. He wanted them to make good use of their time, because time was short. He kicked them out of the nest and told them to FLY! And fly they did. These lessons learned in Matthew 10 helped prepare them for a time when Christ would no longer be with them. They learned how to be "the sent!"
The sent are those who are flyers! They want to fly, because they love flight. But the worst thing that can happen to a flyer is to become a flight instructor. They no longer fly, but tell others how to fly as they sit in the comfort of their nests. God did not call us to be flight instructors. He called us and equipped us to be flyers! Like Albert, there was a lot of effort taken to make sure we survived to the point of having the opportunity to fly. Now is not the time to quit flying. Are there any flyers out there? If not, where have all the birds gone! NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO QUIT FLYING. Come back to your first love and once again, FLY!
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