Entertaining Angels

I recently found myself in the middle of a conversation about angels. And not just a sidebar conversation in which they came up, but stories, real-life stories of people who have encountered them. Admittedly, I was freaked out. Well and truly freaked out; like goose bumps up and down my arms and that unsettling but exciting feeling in my stomach and all throughout my insides. I don’t know why I reacted this way, aside from the fact that I don’t like thinking about supernatural things; which may seem contradictory to the fact that I’m a believer.

So these stories made me realize that I don’t really know a lot about angels. I know the concept of angels vs demons, I know that people like to put them as ornaments on their Christmas trees, and I’ve seen the movie Michael. Other than that, I was bit (ok, totally) uninformed about angels. And really, that is nobody else’s fault but my own.

So I did some research on the internet (sidebar: WHAT did we ever do without the internet? Would I have driven to the public library so that I could check out books about angels? I suppose I would have, since that’s what I used to ask my mom to do when I had a report due in school!). And I learned a little something about angels.

First, they are not cute, cuddly, chubby little cherub children. They are adults. And apparently they are almost always male. I think this would contribute to my “freaking out” if I ever saw one. And they sometimes appear in human form looking completely normal. And other times they glow, or have wings or some other non-human distinguishing feature. Ummm, freak out time! But they can also not been seen at all. My research indicated that they will only become human, if necessary, to carry out specific responsibilities.

Second, there are LOTS of them, but they seem to have all been created at the same time. And there are no new angels being added to the angel population and they do not die, so the number is believed to stay constant. There have to be so many of them because they are not omnipresent i.e. each angel can be in only one place at any given time.

Some other interesting tidbits I learned about angels:

- The word “angel” comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means “messenger”. They are messengers from God! Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? – Hebrews 1:14 (NIV)

- Their tasks can include everything from revealing, guiding and providing, to protecting delivering and encouraging.

Hebrews 13:2 reminds us to “…not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” What? You mean that homeless person that I snubbed at the corner could be an angel? Or the sweet old lady who needed help getting the groceries in her car? Or the man in the wheelchair crossing the street when I was in a rush and wanted to turn right? These people were likely not angels coming into human form to teach me something, but what if they were? Have I already encountered an angel in my life and didn’t even know it?

The Newsboys have a song called “Entertaining Angels”. It reminds me that they can be anywhere or anybody and that I may be entertaining them without even knowing. So perhaps this means that I should be more aware of the people and circumstances around me. I’m pretty sure that I should.

Now let’s talk about “freak out” moments. Because I promise you that if I were to see a glowing body protecting somebody (or myself), or an adult male with wings, I would want to close my eyes and pretend that it wasn’t there. I would freak out. Or maybe I would stand wide-eyed in awe and amazement. That’s a nicer option, but less likely.

But why do I feel this way? It doesn’t quite make sense to me. Maybe I have some work to do. Maybe I’m supposed to want to see angels. I don’t know. I’m a spiritual person; I mean, I believe in God who is unseen, yet is so present. But He’s GOD! And they would be something that is not familiar to me.

So what now? I think the key for me is to remember that they are messengers for God, and that God sends them for a specific purpose. If they come into my life, it’s because God wants them there. And if He wants them there, then by golly, so should I! He would never do anything to harm me; it would only be for good. I certainly would want an angel around if I was in trouble and needed protection. If it meant the difference between life and death, how could I not choose an angel “freak out” moment? And if God needs to teach me something or reveal something to me, who am I to close my eyes. He just wants to act on His will for my life.

I’ve learned a little something about angels. I can’t promise that I still won’t freak out if and when I see one here on Earth, but I will make a concerted effort to be more aware of the company around me, because in truth, they may be right here in my every day life. Today, I may be entertaining angels.