Angels

The deeper we get into the Advent season and the closer we get to Christmas, the more likely it is that angels will begin appearing on the pages of the story.  Of course, as any reader of the Scripture knows, angels do have a way of showing up.  One of my favorite angel appearances is found in the Old Testament book of Daniel.  There are many from which to choose.  They seem to have been hanging out with the disciples when Jesus ascended into heaven and in another place an angel engineered a jail break (Acts 12).

 

Of course, angel activity might have been at its zenith around the time of the birth of Jesus.   Both Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were visited by an angel announcing the birth of sons.  Joseph discovered one invading his dream life.  The shepherds in the field on the night of the birth of Jesus were told to go to Bethlehem by angels.  And as pages of the Scripture unfold with the story of the work of God, it seems that angel appearances are rather commonplace.

 

While some of us may think of someone in angelic terms, few of us talk about seeing angels in our midst.  Still, we wonder.  Sometimes we wonder if the rooms of the dying are not filled with watching angels seen only by those whose eyes are beginning to see glimpses of eternity.  Perhaps, there are times such as these when the veil between this world and the world waiting for us is so thin that even some of the more spiritually sensitive souls see them alongside those who are more there than here.  Who is to say?  All we can say for sure is that these heavenly spirits have often done the bidding of God and still remain ready to go in His name.  Some of us may only see them in the manger scenes so frequently portrayed in these days, but who knows for sure who is watching over us and who it is among us that has eyes to see.