Golden Eagle: A Higher Call
In life there is a call to duty, but sometimes there is “a higher call”, one in which the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ goes above and beyond our call of duty. I just finished reading an amazing book, A Higher Call. It takes place during World War II 1943 in the skies over Germany. An American bomber, it’s pilot and crew, their plane barely able to hold altitude due to heavy damage, tries to make it back to England. A miracle in the sky takes place when a German fighter pilot, Franz Stigler, pulls alongside the bomber, trying to get the attention of the pilot, Charlie Brown to head for Sweden only thirty minutes away. Franz stays with Charlie, taking a chance that the German cannons on the ground won’t fire if they see the German fighter flying alongside the bomber. Franz safely escorted Charlie and his crew out beyond the firing line, but for forty years never knew if the Americans made it home. A Higher Call is the story of one man’s integrity and act of listening to the “Higher Call”.
The book quotes:
As he approached the straggling bomber, it fell to Franz Stigler to make a choice. The action required by the call of duty was clear. He should attack and destroy the wounded B-17. But perhaps there was a higher call, requiring forbearance. Perhaps honor and humanity required staying the hand of destruction. It was time to decide. Act, in answer to the call of duty...or act not, in answer to the higher call. The sum of all his experiences led to the choice that few would have predicted and few would understand. "This will be no victory for me, Franz decided. I will not have this on my conscience for the rest of my life."
It is my hope and prayer that the songs on Golden Eagle: A Higher Call, will take you to a higher place and to a deeper and more intimate friendship with God.