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CHRISTIAN |
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Truth
Give a thought to the bird's wonderful power of flight, which enables his bright eyes to enjoy such broad and such quickly changing views. To some people, and to some states of mind in us all, nothing seems real and sure but the things of the earth which we can see and feel. But we may learn the substantial reality of spiritual things; states of affection and thought and spiritual influences become as real to us as our natural surroundings, and much more important. We can think of them as of real things; the thought finds in them a substantial support, and delights to look at life from that spiritual point of view. So the mental bird rises from the ground into the air.
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Vision
In Isaiah we read, "They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles." (Isa. xl. 31) They shall become strong in will for what is good, and shall rise into spiritual intelligence. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the LORD alone did lead him." (Deut. xxxii. 10-12) It tells of the Lord's effort to lift men up to understand spiritual truth in heavenly light, imparting to them of His own Divine intelligence.
The eagle, which represents the most spiritual and penetrating power of human thought, may in a supreme sense be a type of the Lord's omniscience and His ever watchful care. What a beautiful symbol of Divine watchfulness - the stately bird soaring above the earth, observing all that goes on below!
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Peace
The story of Noah's Ark, the Phoenix of ancient mythology, Sadako and the Paper Cranes, and the Great Seal of the United States all gave rise to bird peace symbols. When we think of a symbol of peace, the first thing that springs to mind is often a White Dove, particularly in Western culture. In the Far East, a more familiar peace symbol might well be a Red Crowned Crane. When something from nature is used to symbolize peace, it is usually a bird or a flower; perhaps this is because these living things seem inherently peaceful to us. Certainly few creatures seem as calm and harmless as a dove.
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https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02576b.htm
https://www.godweb.org/birds.htm
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