Under God's Wings

"He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge.."

(Psalm 91:4 NIV)

An article in National  Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of an eagle's wings, symbolic of God's Everlasting Wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found an eagle literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of the tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.

When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried out from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise.

She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze arrives and the hear had scorched her body. the mother remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings lived.

In the Gospels we have such a description as Jesus approached His final destination at Jerusalem. He faced the cross, the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of the world. Climbing the mountain, He looked over the city of jerusalem and wept. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" He lamented, "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." (Matthew 23:37 NIV)

The human tragedy then and still is that people are generally unwilling to accept God's gracious offer to His Son, Jesus Christ and come to Him and find rest and safety for their souls. He said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest...for i am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you souls." (Matthew 11:28 NIV)