There is a story told of a small boy climbing in the mountains, who found an eagle’s nest with an egg in it. Placing the egg carefully into his pocket, he took it home and placed it under one of his father’s hens along with several other eggs. When eventually the eagle hatched out, he naturally thought he was a chicken. He learned all about chicken behaviour and scratched about in the farmyard with all his other siblings. You see he didn’t know any better, but sometimes he felt strange stirrings within himself, but didn’t know what to do with them and so he suppressed them, after all he told himself he was a chicken and so should behave like one.

One day another eagle flew over the farmyard and looking up and seeing him, the young eagle realised in that moment that he too wanted to be like that eagle and fly high and soar up into the mountain peaks he could see in the distance. As he pushed himself off the ground and spread his wings, he suddenly realised that he was in fact an eagle. Though he had never flown before, he possessed all the natural instincts and capabilities. At first he flew rather unsteadily, then with a great surge of power and control he soared up into the sky and as he soared, he realised he had discovered his true self and had become the creature that God had made him to be.

Self discovery is what St Paul meant when he wrote, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.” We were made by God and for God and until we all understand that, then our life doesn’t make any real sense. For it is in Christ that we discover our purpose, our significance and our destiny.

In other words, we discover our true selves.