Angels? Guiding Others with the Light of Love

I have always been interested in angels.  I have collection of willow tree angels, dreamsicle cherubs, angel ornaments, and other angel figurines.  I am a 2000 graduate of Meredith College home of the avenging angels.  One of my favorite childhood pictures is of me dressed as angel for the children’s Christmas play at church. 

A literal translation of the Greek word for angel is “messenger.”  Throughout scripture we find angels coming as messengers to deliver news.  Perhaps most familiar are the angels in the Christmas story.  These angels come with a message announcing the coming of the Christ Child.  In Genesis 18, Abraham encounters 3 strangers and offers them food and rest, and we are also told in Hebrews 13:2 to show hospitality to strangers because sometimes the stranger is an angel in disguise.  The Psalmist writes that God will command angels concerning you to guard you and go with you (Psalm 91:11).  When Jesus entered the wilderness for 40 days we read that angels cared for him (Mark 1:13).  It seems clear that God uses angels to interact with humanity in order to reveal God’s message of love, comfort, hope, and compassion. 

In High School I enjoyed the Alabama hit song, “Angels Among Us.”  The chorus says,
               

Oh, I believe there are Angels Among Us,

Sent down to us from somewhere up above.

They come to you and me in our darkest hours

To show us how to live

Teach us how to give

To guide us with a light of love.

This songs seems consistent with the biblical description of messengers that God sends to convey God’s message of love, comfort, hope, and compassion.    So, this gets me to wondering, when have I encountered an angel?  Or perhaps when have I been privileged to be used by God to carry God’s message to someone else?

I think of the precious lady who mopped my hospital room late one night.  I was in one of the dark places of life because of the uncertainty surrounding Ella and Mattie’s premature birth.  She came in my room and saw the picture of their tiny frail bodies lying on my bedside table, and she said, “Honey, they are beautiful.  God’s gonna take of them, now don’t you worry.”  As soon as she had said it, she was gone.  I needed that message.  I needed to remember that God was with me and that God was with Ella and Mattie.  An angelic encounter.  This lady did not come clothed in white and with wings and a halo, but as a human being carrying a divine message.

As I continue my Lenten journey, I am going to be looking for the angels among us and I am going to trust that God will use me to guide others with the light of love.