The Faith Lives of Ducks

Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher/theologian, told a story, a parable if you will, about a town where only ducks live:

Every Sunday morning the ducks waddle out of their houses and waddle down Main Street to their church. They waddle into the sanctuary and squat in their proper pews. The duck choir waddles in and takes its place, then the duck minister waddles forward and opens the duck Bible. He preaches to them: "Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fences can hold you! You have wings. God has given you wings and you can fly like birds!" All the ducks shout, "Amen!" And then they all waddle home.

Kierkegaard used that story to get people, particularly Christians, to think about their God-given potential. We constantly hear about our potential in Christ. We read verses like Philippians 4:13 that says, "I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Or even John 14:12 that says, "I [Jesus Christ] tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father." We sit in church or Sunday School, nodding our heads in agreement about the new life that can be ours through Christ and through a commitment to faith... but in the end, how often do you we act upon what we've heard? Like the ducks in the parable, we just say "Amen" and continue on with our lives, the same way we always have.

So maybe there is something more to a faith commitment. Maybe there's a piece that we're missing. James 2:17 says that "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Wow. Strong words. But true nonetheless. It's still faith... but it's not a living faith. It's not a walking, talking, breathing, moving, hands and feet of God kinda faith! A true faith commitment is more than just saying you believe that God has given you a gift, it's the courage and tenacity to use that gift and share it with others.

In yet another story about commitment, Kierkegaard tells the tale of a man trapped on the edge of a cliff with raging fire burning towards him. The inferno is rapidly approaching and it will only be a minute or two before the fire reaches and consumes him. All of a sudden the man hears a voice from down below the cliff, in the darkness, calling out, "Jump!" Frightened, the man yells back, "But I can't see you! There's only darkness down there!" The voice from down below yells back, "Jump anyway! I can see you!"

No one tells stories about commitment better than Kierkegaard. Probably because, for him, commitment was the core of what it means to be a Christian. And he used that particular story, the one about the man on the cliff, to illustrate what he called "the leap of faith." Tony Campolo said that, "in the end, what is required in committing oneself to Christ is so overwhelming that only those who are desperate are ready to take that leap of faith and give themselves over completely to the voice that calls out to us."

So here's my challenge for you, for all of us. Spend some quiet time alone with God. Listen for Him. Maybe He's calling out to you but you've been so distracted by other things that the noise of busyness, complacency, and apathy has muted His voice. What's He trying to tell you? What commitment is He asking you to make? What gift is He urging you to share? After listening to God, pray that He would send His Spirit into your heart and that through Him and through His power, you will be able to do those great things... to act and not just speak... to soar and not just waddle. Happy February!