Coco Calling No.238 - Reach for the Sky

I suppose you could describe me as a bit of an aeronaut because I can spread my beautiful wings and fly whenever I want. Over the past 23 years, I’ve flown around in different houses, in churches as well as outside in the garden. I have an aerodynamic shape, and my combination of lightweight bones and featherlight plumage means that I’m perfectly made for flying.

Humans, on the other hand, don’t have wings, so all they can do is plod around on the Earth’s crust, and jump a few feet into the air when they want some excitement. So it’s not surprising that they’ve tried to emulate birds by making various flying machines, (but they’re simply not the real deal!) Some of their contraptions are like herds of flying elephants. The A380 Airbus weighs up to 1,268,000 lbs (575,000 kg) whereas I’m rather less than six small ounces (170 grams). So guess which one of us can get into the air more quickly? And humans still haven’t learnt to cover their planes with feathers to make them fly better…

Having said all that, it’s a very good thing for humans to set their sights high, because that’s something that all Christians have to do. Our journey through Life towards Heaven means that we need to be great explorers, so that we reach out from where we are, to discover something that is bigger, and greater, than any of us can imagine. And that something isn’t another continent on the other side of the world; it’s not the tallest peak or the deepest point of the oceans. It’s not like that. Because we need to reach for the sky; to look beyond the limitations and imperfections of our worldly existence, and to search out something that is beyond the life that we are currently living. And it’s often an inner restlessness and a dissatisfaction with the present, that propels us on our way. And hopefully, the journey that we make will eventually lead us into the very heart of God’s family in Heaven. And we can get there with, or without our wings, if we follow the path that’s laid before us…

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?” (Robert Browning: [1812-1889]: English poet and playwright)

“My home is Heaven. I’m just passing through this world.” (Billy Graham: [1918-2018]: Prominent American evangelist)

“The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can’t supply is proof that Heaven must be our home.” (C.S. Lewis: [1898-1963]: Northern Irish theologian and prominent Christian author who held academic posts at Oxford and Cambridge Universities)

“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)