Law of Attraction: Eagles are Conspicuously Marked

This series on the Biblical metaphor of the eagle resulted from a scheduled tweet series that was my most retweeted ever. This is the third post inspired by the success of that series. In the first, we discussed how eagles must soar rather than flap their wings to fly. To do this, they wait upon thermal winds that lift them high above other birds and carry them along. This is the picture portrayed in Isaiah 40:31 where we are told to “wait upon the Lord” and we will “mount up with wings like eagles”. The winds that would topple us, if we accept them and turn become the winds that allow us to truly soar. In the second, we considered the patience of eagles as hunters as compared that to the Biblical view of “patience”. There is more to mine from this Biblical metaphor though, much more.

Eagles are conspicuously marked; Christians are exhorted to be conspicuous in order to draw others to us and ultimately to God as His work is displayed in our lives — we are to be “light” to the world.

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.

3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters are carried on the arm.
(Isaiah 60)

When and where is this more evident than on Twitter. We need only look about to see who is drawn to us, who follows us. If we Google our name now, most of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) are loaded with results from Facebook and Twitter. We have never been so transparently visible, there’s nowhere to hide. This is exactly how God wants it.

14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5)

John the Baptist, who frequented the wilderness, is given as an example of the right kind of “light”. He stood out and drew people to him in spite of his environment.

35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. (John 5)

John the Baptist lived it but notice that here we see a measurable result of John’s light. This is God’s Law of Attraction. This is made more clear in Ephesians 5:

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)

10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

There is fruit from giving off this light, there are results. They include “goodness, righteousness and truth” as well as exposing deeds that are “fruitless”. If we want to go detective and find lights for God, we would look for these characteristics. Are there others?

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,

15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. (Philippians 2)

We can also expect people who are lights for God to be “blameless and pure” against the backdrop of “complaining” and “arguing”. Are there any activities that would define these people?

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5)

They don’t indulge themselves with alcohol but rather with God’s Word and music. In fact, according to Pastor John Piper, author of Desiring God: Confessions of a Christian Hedonist, this is one thing Christians can do without reserve and without moderation. Christians can be hedonistic, that is, seek their own pleasure at will and often when worshiping God, He desires it to be so.

Eagles are conspicuously marked, they stand out in all of nature. We should also stand out both by characteristic and by activity. We will exhibit a qualitative difference relative to those who live in darkness and we are marked by what we chose to do. The world chooses pleasure, we choose pleasure in worship; the former’s object is self, the latter is God. Pleasure in self-indulgence deplenishes the human spirit, pleasure in God replenishes the spirit. It is in this cycle of worship and walk that we draw from an unending energy source to empower our conspicuous light, enabling us, like the eagle, to stand out against our environment.

Recording: Eagles are Conspicuous

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