PARABLE OF THE WILD DUCK

The other day, though I live in the heart of Canada's largest city, I heard the familiar sound of honking geese.    With the noise and the hustle and bustle of city life, it's easy to miss these delightful sounds of the wild.    But I heard it, and looking up I saw a flock of Canadian Geese flying overhead in V formation.   It's a sure sign that spring is on the way as the geese make their way north for the summer.   It's been a long winter and it's starting to get to me and I long for the new life that spring infuses into my being.

It made me think of the "Parable of the Wild Duck." ¹   It seems there was a Wild Duck flying north with his fellow ducks after a long winter in the south.    As they travelled north to their nesting areas they passed over several farms wherein there were tame ducks who remained in the barnyard through the winter months.

This particular duck was curious about the tame ducks below, so leaving his friends he lands and mingles with the barnyard ducks for a few moments.    It seems like a good life.    There is plenty of corn and water.    He stayed for an hour thinking he'd catch up with his wild friends shortly.    Then he stayed for an hour, then for a day, then for a week, then for a month, and finally, because he relished the good food and the safety of the barnyard, he stayed the summer.

The summer then soon passed.   It was autumn now and the days began to shorten.  It was on one such day that the Wild Duck heard the familiar quacks of his former flock.    They were now winging their way south for the winter.    As they flew over the barnyard the Wild Duck was stirred with a strange thrill of joy and delight.  There was a deep longing in him to join the familiar and exhilarating flight south.  This was something he was built for, something for which wild ducks were made.    With a great flapping of his wings he rose in the air to join his old flock for their majestic flight south.

The familiar quacks of the wild and free flock spurred him on like a great call, but, alas, the good fair and food of the farm had made him fat and soft.  Though he flapped his wings with great vigor and effort, to his great dismay, he found he could not raise higher than the eaves of the barn.   The quacking of the wild flock soon faded into the distance and he waddled back to the safety of the barnyard, muttering to himself, “I’m satisfied here, I have plenty of food, and the area is good.   Why should I leave?”   So, he spent the winter on the farm.

In the spring, he once again heard the familiar sound of his old friends quacking their way north.    As they flew over the barnyard he felt a strange stirring within his breast and he looked up, but he made no effort to try to fly up to meet them.  When the fall came, as they flew over the farm once again the wild flock quacked the invitation to rejoin them, but the Wild Duck had become so accustomed to the good life of the barnyard that he didn't even notice them.  He didn't look up.   There was no stirring within his breast.  No longing or excitement to know the thrill and the freedom of a Wild Duck.  In the years that passed, he never looked up again. 

                                 Blessed is the man who

                                        walks not in the counsel of the wicked, 

                                        nor stands in the way of sinners,

                                         nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 

                                         But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

                                     and on his law he meditates day and night. 

                                                                                            (Psalm 1:1-2)

No follower of Jesus deliberately sets out be seduced by the pleasures of the world.  No godly Christian women wakes up in the morning and suddenly decides to go have an affair.  No God honouring man is suddenly struck on his way to the office with the idea of cheating his company out of thousands of dollars.  Nor does any devoted teen just decide one night they will go out and get drunk.  No, there is most often a downward progression.  

The Psalmist laid it out for us.   First we sit in the counsel of the wicked.  Their ideas, their lifestyle and their way of thinking begin to fill our minds.  Then we sit in the way of sinners .   Their ways increasingly become our ways.   We are comfortable in the barnyard of the world and our lives increasingly become maked by complacency.   Finally, we sit in the seat of the scoffers.   We arrive at the place where we can mock the spiritual fervancy of others and the lives we live in the barnyard seems perfectly normal.  

My friends, how easy it is to lose our spiritual passion.    Everything about the world around us is designed to draw us away.   How is it with you?

What do I learn from the Parable of the Wild Duck?

I Am Created To Give Flight To Spiritual Passion
  God creaded me for Him.   He has called me to love Him, and Him alone, with all my heart, soul,    mind and strength. 2   Knowing the depth of my sin and the magnatude of God's forgiveness filled my heart with gratitude passion for God.

The seductive power of the world is powerful.
The world offers many good things.   God has given us these things to enjoy, but if we are not careful the very things intended to be a blessing can enslave us and draw us away from Passion for God and the things of God.   The draw of the world is powerful and I can be so drawn to the good life, that I miss the call of God to passionately pursue Him.

I Alone Are Responsible For My Own Spiritual Passion
I cannot blame my spiritual condition on anyone else.   I am responsible to maintain passion for God and the things of God beating in my breast.  

Fellowship With Other Believers Is Crucial To Maintaining Spiritual Passion.
Other believers keep me accountable and give me support in my pursuit of God.   When I leave the formation of the church I put myself in great danger of spiritual apathy.

Succumbing to the subtle seduction of the world will kill my desire to ever fly again.

It Is Scary To Think I Can Be So Settled In My Complacancy That I Either Don't See It Or Don't Care
The thought that I might become so complacent and lukewarm in my walk with Christ that I may not recognize it or care is downright scary.    Oh God,  I plead, never allow me to get to the place where I never look up, where I can never hear the call of Wild Ducks to follow hard after you.

My friends how is it with you?   There may be times of spiritual drifting in our lives.   Times when we have settled for the riches of the barnyard rather than the free flight of an exciting life in passionate pursuit of God Himself.      There will be times when we need to trim the fat, focus our interest, and set our priorities towards the wild and exciting pursuit of God.   Times when we need to look up, to hear the call and take flight.     Wild Ducks are meant to fly and you and I were meant to passionately pursue God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

("The Parable Of The Wild Duck" is full of powerful lessons.   What lessons and applications can you see.   Let me encourage you to share them with the readers of this blog.    Post a Comment below by clicking on "No Comments" and leaving your thoughts.   Let's have a wonderful and uplifting conversation with those from around the world).
 

¹  "Parable of the Wild Duck" was first told by Danish theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

²  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.     (Mark 12:30)