Angels intrigue me, as they probably do you and your
children, no matter what ages they are. Angels belong to the supernatural - the
world beyond our control. Yet, they are right here among us.
It's good to appreciate angels, but there are many
misconceptions about these heavenly creatures. In awe of them, many people have
made up faulty theories. Where they have little information, people have filled
in the gaps with their earthly imaginings.
We seem to talk more about angels at Christmas time than
at any other season. Angels brought the Christmas story to us. First, an angel
appeared to Mary and later to Joseph to tell them that Mary would be the mother
of the Christ child. Then a host of angels appeared to the shepherds to tell
them the good news of the Christ child’s birth.
In the Bible, God uses angels as His ministering spirits
many times to bring His message to people and to help them. I’m sure you can
think of such instances. An angel told Abraham to spare his son, Isaac, from
sacrifice; an angel saved Daniel from the ferocious lions in the lion den; and
an angel rolled away the heavy stone from Christ’s tomb.
In my book The Lion Tree, an angel visits the main
character, Darian. Although my book is Christian fiction, angels do still appear
to people and bring them messages and help them.
I have a wonderful little book called
Angel at My Door by Robert Strand. In it, Strand writes of modern-day
encounters between people and angels. In one story, a family is saved by a
driver that doesn’t exist. In another, a hitchhiker warns a pastor and then
disappears. When these “angels” leave, there are no footprints and no one has
seen this “person” before or after. In a more dramatic story, rebels come to
attack a school and then change their minds and leave. They later tell how they
saw “huge men dressed white with flaming swords” at the school.
This exciting book reminds me God’s messengers are still
here among us.
Our trust and hope is always in God. At critical times,
though, He often still sends His angel to protect, defend, encourage or supply
our need. But it’s to God we give the glory and whom we praise.
Blessings,
Ruth
