2016-05-12
Angel Affirmations

A few weeks ago I agreed to babysit for my neighbor’s 5-year-old daughter, Claire. She wanted to color so I pulled out some paper and Crayons. When I asked her what we should draw, she said she wanted to draw an angel. So, in the fashion of angels that you often see in gift shops, Claire started to make her best attempt at drawing a round little girl with golden hair and wings. She asked me to draw and angel, too. So I proceeded to draw a large masculine face on a gentleman clad in golden armor, and she told me that was not an angel.

Realizing it was probably not my place to dispel this child’s belief that angels are sweet little females with flowing hair and fluffy wings, I decided to find a new project and forgo the “truth about angels” discussion for the day.

But, of course, here and now is a different story! It’s not that I don’t believe in angels - I certainly do! The word of God clearly states that angels exist, and have throughout time. It’s just that many are misinformed about their existence, and their appearance for that matter. Today I want to offer a brief history lesson on angels.

First, let me state that angels do indeed exist. More than 30 books of the Bible reference angels. Angels were created by God (Col. 1:16). They were created in the beginning, before man, and before the world (Job 38:6,7). Christ even taught of their existence (Matt 8:10, 24:31).

Second, angels are spiritual beings. They exists as spirits, not with material bodies (Heb 1:14).

They can be seen in the form of men in dreams, and on occasion in natural sight with human function (Gen 18:1-8). They do not die, nor do those of us who die become angels (Luke 20:36).

Third, angels have specific roles. They continually worship God, describing His attributes and singing praises to Him (Rev 4:6-11, Is 6:13). They are God’s servants and messengers (Heb1:7, Luke 1:19). Angels ministered to Christ, announced Christ's birth, protected and strengthened Him and explained His resurrection and ascension to men (Luke 1:26-33, Matt 2:13, 4:11,28:6, Acts 1:10,11). They protect God’s people, opposing our enemies, bringing provisions and serving as personal guardians (PS 34:7, 35:4,5, Matt 8:10, Acts 12:7).

So there you have it: Angels 101, straight from the word of God!

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