Egg Eater

Maybe you read one of my stories a little while ago about how our chickens had a specific nest in which they would only lay their eggs in. Out of a dozen nesting boxes, they would only lay in two of them. As I was unable to get them to start laying in the others, I would have to go out to collect the eggs every couple of hours, otherwise there would be a gigantic pile waiting for me at the end of the day, and that was something that I tried to not let happen. Why, you ask? Because with so many eggs in a single nest they had a tendency to get crushed as a new chicken jumped up into the nest to lay their own.

Well one day I went out to collect the eggs just as any other day, but to my surprise I found none. Not a single egg in any of the nests! But as I looked closer in one of the nests I noticed the remains of an egg yolk coating the straw bedding. Immediately I knew what had happened; we had an egg eater. 

An egg eater is the name to which we gave a chicken who, yes, ate their own eggs. Chickens will eat most of the food scraps which you throw to them and at some point they viewed the broken eggs in the nests as food. Unfortunately there is little that you can do to get them to stop eating eggs, and when one of these problem chickens showed up they were quickly “retired” into a soup pot. They were no longer fit to be with the other chickens and lay eggs anymore.

When something is fit it means that it is suitable for use, or that it is worthy of something. Well Jesus taught that no man who “puts his hand to the plough” and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

Luke 9:57-62  “And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

When a person decides to serve Jesus and give the control of their life to Him, it is a commitment that lasts a lifetime. The Lord needs full time soldiers, not weekend warriors. He needs people who understand what it is that they are doing when they answer His call to “Follow me.” 

The life of a Christian is a journey that needs to be walked day by day, one after the other. It is a journey away from the old sinful life that we used to live, as each step is another day in our life for Jesus that brings us one step closer to be with Him.

The Apostles of Christ were the first ones to make this journey as they followed the example of the Lord. From the time that Jesus called out to them, they lived each day with their hand to that plough in their labor of love, faith, and devotion for the Lord. They made Christ first in the things that they did because they knew that to be worthy of the name of Christ they needed to always be looking and moving forwards, and away from the old man of sin which they used to be. 

Hebrews 10:38  “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

To be pleasing to Jesus we need to continue in His word, in faith. We need to keep the commands that He taught and keep ourselves from sin, keeping ourselves “fit for the master’s use.”

2 Timothy 2:19-21  “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

In Christ,

Andrew