Manageable, Comfortable, Irrelevant
March 8
Do not be afraid…
Luke 1:13, 30
Janet noticed a cute little cherub sitting among the shelf of knick-knacks. She picked it up, turning it in her hands, noticing the fine detail in the wings and features of the little angel. She decided to purchase it for a friend of hers, hoping to encourage her with this image of God’s angelic servants. Taking the figurine to the cashier, she commented on how wonderful it was to have angels around to remind us of their protection. The cashier’s response wasn’t what she’d expected…nor did she find it meeting her concept of angels.
“That cute little figurine doesn’t fit Scripture’s account of the real thing,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Janet asked.
“When you read the account of Gabriel’s appearance in the first chapter of Luke you don’t exactly picture some chubby-cheeked imp with his head cradled in his hands. God’s Word says Zechariah was ‘gripped with fear’ when he saw Gabriel! Angels are imposing. We’ve just made them acceptable by relegating them to cute-as-a-button status.”
“I never thought of it that way,” Janet said, amazed by the stark contrast in the cashier’s statement, and what she’d always thought. She set the figurine back on the shelf, realizing she’d just had a revelation. She could never return to her previously held concept of angels again.
†
Angels, when presenting themselves to humanity, elicit an immediate response of fear. If this were not so they would not need to proclaim, “Fear not” or “Do not be afraid” when physically appearing in our world. This does not fit the image we foster and pass along to our children and others when we display cute little cherubs.
Like everything else we fail to understand or can’t control, we make angels manageable and comfortable, rendering them irrelevant so we don’t have to contemplate reality.
Our perception has no effect on reality. God’s angels are formidable and ferocious. We should be thankful, for our enemy isn’t a little red figure with a pointed little tail and horns.
Prayer
“LORD God of angel armies, I thank You that Your angels are imposing, great and mighty warriors, instead of tiny little chubby cheeked imps floating on clouds. May they always strike fear in our hearts until they proclaim, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Amen.”
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