Are you a turkey or are you an eagle?

November is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving, which typically revolves around a traditional turkey dinner. So I can’t help but ask, are you a turkey or an eagle? While a turkey and an eagle are both birds, there is a lot difference between the two. Turkeys can fly, but prefer to walk. Eagles can walk but mostly fly…and when they fly, they soar! Turkey when used as an adjective is an insult. Eagle when used as an adjective is a complement. Turkeys eat dirt and rocks (Really, it helps their digestion!). EAGLES, on the other hand consume only protein.

Just as there is a vast difference between a turkey and an eagle, there is a vast difference between a believer and a disciple. Becoming a believer of Jesus and receiving the free-gift of eternal life costs absolutely nothing, while becoming a disciple of Jesus can cost a believer everything! Infant believers are like a turkey, while mature disciples of Jesus more closely resemble an eagle. The apostle Paul writes in 1Corinthians 3:1-2 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able.” The apostle Paul wanted young believers in Jesus to grow up to become eagles and stop acting like turkeys. Every Christian is expected to mature in their faith and become a strong disciple of Jesus. It’s like the difference between a turkey and an eagle. Becoming an eagle or a strong disciple of Jesus begins by believing who He claimed to be, God in the flesh who died for our sins on a cross and rose again three days later proving He was indeed God. After trusting in Jesus by faith through grace alone, believers are expected to mature into a strong reproducing disciple. This is the call and purpose of every Christian. Isaiah 40:31 states, “Yet those who wait for the LORD, will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” We were born again in Jesus to fly and sadly to many Christians today are living like turkeys!

Dr. Steve Brown is pastor of North Summit Church. He can be reached at s.brown@northsummit.com.