Teaching Turtles to Fly

November 29, 2007 FB

Dr. J. Vernon McGee used this illustration to show salvation and the alienation of mankind to God, and I would like to further it a little.
• All people are like turtles living in a muddy miry lake of Sin. When we come to Christ God takes us out of the lake, cleans us off, gives us wings, and teaches us turtles how to fly.
The other turtles see that one flying and when the flying turtle tells the others about God they laugh and could care less. They have no desire or inclination to learn to fly. It is totally alien to them. That is Sin inside our bodies and souls. We are living in this filthy lake, and the mud and filth has seeped under our shell and into us. Sin has alienated us from God. We need to turn from Sin and to God so He can pull us out and gives us wings.

This is where I would like to further the illustration.
• What happens when we turtles who can fly go back into the lake of Sin?
None of the other turtles can see one who flies. Even if the turtle who can fly pleads with them to go to God and learn how to fly, they don’t believe because they can’t see the wings very well since they are under mud and covered. Their witness is ruined because they are not clean. This happens when you live in habitual sin(s).

• What happens when they see a turtle flying?
When the turtles in the lake see the turtle flying they notice the difference, but don’t know how they got the ability to fly. As Christians we need to be sharing how we got the ability to fly (the Gospel: Christ died with our sins, and rose again to purge them), otherwise the turtles in the lake (unsaved sinners) won’t know what is different. Keep in mind that there are always other turtles who are using their own makeshift wings to try to fly but haven’t been given real wings by God (any of the cults and false religions). They must be shown the difference.

• What happens when they see lots of turtles flying?
Okay this is where the call to remove sinful attitudes, actions, distractions, and stumbling blocks comes in. When you look at modern Christianity it is obvious that the majority of conservative evangelical Christians are living in the lake of Sin over in the section of idleness and complacency. Get up and fly through the abundant life in the sky!! Sell your Sin house by the lake and move into the mansion you have in the sky, get rid of all the things that you are letting keep you from flying, and get out there and fly over the lake with a blow horn telling the lake turtles how you came to be able to fly. Start reading the Bible and using it as a broom to clean up your life. Start asking God for help, and praising Him for everything verbally. Start using the gifts God has given you to their fullest. My friends, can you imagine what would happen to the world and the church if all us lazy Christian turtles would stop making excuses, clean ourselves up, and start flying?

Nehemiah Ryan © 2007