Angels are in. And they seem to be everywhere.
(No, for once, I am not referring to my favorite Major League Baseball club). Angels appear in pins and playing cards, posters and wall paper; people wear angels and find comfort in knowing that “there are angels watching over me.”
Certainly the Bible teaches us something of God’s care for us through angels (Ex 23:20, Ps 34:7, Ps 91:11, Heb 1:14). And even if we can’t place the verse (Matthew 18:10), we find great comfort in the reference t something of “guardian angels” for children. But the main point and purpose of Angels is not about their “looking over” us, but the way that they teach us to “look to” God and specifically to notice, pay attention to and prepare for the presence of Jesus.
As one scholar puts it:
“(In the Gospels) the functions of angels relate directly to the life and ministry of Jesus. Specifically, angels mediate direct revelation from God only at two moments: Jesus’ birth and his resurrection. In the interim, he himself is the pre-eminent disclosure of God.” , J. B., McKnight, S., & Marshall, I. H. (1992). Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (Page 11, elec. ed.).
While the world finds comfort that there are heavenly messengers (which is what the world “angel” means), the messengers want us to get the message that Jesus the King is amongst us (which is the ultimate comfort, is it not?).
The Angels are not meant to draw attention to themselves, but to Jesus. They are the heavenly choir (Is 6:3, Rev 5:12), not the leader of the band. They are not the stars of the show, but the announcers.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Angels are NOT the souls of deceased loved ones. While many of us have heard well-meaning people talk about God taking a loved one to heaven, because “he needed another angel”, angels are unique created spiritual beings who exist to do God’s bidding, send God’s messages, and encourage God’s highest creature—humans. Next time you call someone an “angel” consider that you are actually putting them down a bit! (See the NRSV version of Psalm 8:5 for a more accurate translation of a text that has often confused people.)
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