Flying to the Nest

Juvenile Bald Eagle

The mystery of Christ's incarnation forever intrigues me, as it is a secret not to be fully understood in this earthly life.  Christ forever was and forever is God, a manifestation, a Person, of the Three-In-One Godhead.

Because every human is born with the sin curse firmly written into our DNA, it is impossible for us to live this life as Jesus did.  Although He was born of earthly mother, His incarnation was made possible by divine act of the Holy Spirit of God, the 3rd Person of the Godhead.  So, Jesus did not live life as a "fallen" human.

The human race was not created by God to live under a sin curse, the one bestowed on all of us through the actions of Adam and Eve.  I repeat, we were not created for this.  Instead, we were created to live sinless lives, as Adam and Eve did before their disastrous choice caused The Fall.
As a result, as the redeemed by Jesus Christ, with His Holy Spirit living in us, we feel that loss of holiness, that fallenness, keenly.

This morning I was reading from Psalm 61:1-5 (NLT):

1O God, listen to my cry!

Hear my prayer!

2From the ends of the earth,

I cry to you for help

when my heart is overwhelmed.

I don't know about you, but I often feel like this....fallen, overwhelmed, defeated, unable to glorify God.  No, we were not created for this, nor does our Savior want us to live like this.  It was to rescue and redeem us from a life of defeat that He allowed the miracle of His incarnation.  It was for our victory that He put on flesh and became one of us.

Even if we don't totally understand what that means.

The Bible tells us, for instance, that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are tempted today, but even so, He did not yield to sin.  We read this in Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.

There are two stories in the gospel accounts that may be the two most extreme instances of Jesus' temptations.  The first occurs at the end of Jesus' 40 days of seclusion in the wilderness, just prior to beginning His ministry.  The second occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane, near the end of His ministry, just before His crucifixion, death, burial and triumphant resurrection.  Both times, it is obvious He subjected Himself to true temptation, willingly shackled as He was to His humanity.  Both times, He emerged from the times of trial triumphant.  Only God could live this human life without sin.  Can I get an "amen"?

As for us, as for me, my heart is frequently "overwhelmed".... by temptation, by sin, by grief, by guilt, by longing for more of Jesus, by _______ (fill in your own blank).  In Psalm 61:1-5, we see a remedy, an antidote to the overwhelmed heart:

Lead me to the towering rock of safety,

3for you are my safe refuge,

a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

4Let me live forever in your sanctuary,

safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

5For you have heard my vows, O God.

You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.

Yesterday I was watching a short video clip of the Berry College Eagles
( berry.edu/eaglecam )
This year's clutch was two eggs, but one young eaglet fell out of the nest and died.  The other has been "fledging" - - learning to fly.  Part of that process involves making short, little "hops" to branches, then progressing to short glides to other branches of the home tree.  Recently, the fledgling had flown down to a branch below the nest, where he or she (can't tell at this point) seemed "stuck", (perhaps overwhelmed with his/her situation?) . The parents were close by, watching, coaching...  Eventually, after several hours, one parent in the nest began to make bird calls down to the fledgling offspring, and he/she finally, clumsily flew back into the nest.  It was not a move achieved with finesse.  In fact, he/she nearly knocked the parent over, in the process.  Still, he/she arrived there.

The psalmist uses similar analogy to describe our "flying to the nest" of our God when we are overwhelmed, when we need "safe sanctuary".  He has both heard our vows of salvation, knows our hearts are His, and longs to gather us under His wings.  It is in His presence, between His arms, we can again find spiritual equilibrium, find spiritual safety, find rest.  It is there we hear Him say to us, "I understand how your heart hurts, because I lived where you now live.  I felt the pain you feel."  He doesn't merely sympathize with our humanity; He goes beyond that to empathize with our weaknesses.  He has "been there".

Such grace, such comfort, such love . .  are our inheritance as children of the Heavenly Father, as the beloved of Jesus Christ.   Our souls are forever safe, with Him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj4SyA7mpJk