Monday, July 29, 2019
The Angels are Watching
The Angels Are Watching
Sammy and his dad were having the time of their lives at the zoo. There was so much to see and so many places to buy snacks. His five-year-old mind couldn’t imagine anything more fun. Having just spotted the elephant rides, they now waited in line, to mount the wild beast for their own adventure. His father was leaning against the railing watching the passing crowd. Suddenly he stood up un-naturally straight, saluted a man in uniform and respectfully said, “Major General.” The man saluted back and kept walking.
“Daddy, did you know that man?” he queried.
His father shook his head “no,” so Sammy pursued the matter: “Then how did you know his name?”
“I didn’t know his name,” his father explained, “Major General is a rank – it is the job that man has in the army.”
“But how did you know his rank?” asked Sammy.
“I could tell by the two silver stars that were pinned on his shoulder,” his father continued, “They wear the stars so other soldiers will know how important they are and whether or not they have to take orders from them.”
“I want to be General someday, so people will salute me,” quipped Sammy as he moved up a few feet in the line.
The Bible teaches that there are spirit beings called angels in the unseen world and that they operate by some very specific rules. Although we typically can’t see them, they can see us. While we often think of them as watching over us, they are also watching us to see what we will do. It seems that, like soldiers, angels pay attention to certain indicators and behaviors to determine people’s place in God’s kingdom.
For example, in I Corinthians 11:10 St. Paul indicates that angels note that a woman is under authority by her head covering which appears to refer to her long hair. The Amplified Version puts it like this: “Therefore, she should [be subject to his authority and should] have a covering on her head [as a token, a symbol, of her submission to authority, that she may show reverence as do] the angels [and not displease them].” Angels pay more attention to what women who are under authority pray, just like privates pay attention to what generals say.
On another occasion, Paul wrote, “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacleunto the world, and to angels,and to men” (1 Corinthians 4:9).
“The idea of “spectacle”is one of an arena or a theater: we are center-stage and the angels are sitting in the stands! Angels observe our activities—they see our sufferings for the Gospel’s sake, they hear our voices when we read God’s Word aloud, they see our sinful acts, they see us do the work of the ministry, and so on. We cannot see them but they can see us. By watching us and listening to us, the angels better understand God’s Word, especially how this Dispensation of Grace operates (or, if our lives are inconsistent with grace living, they become confused). They are watching me write this and they are watching you read this!” (Do Angels Really Watch us?by Shawn Brasseaux)
There is a war between good and evil and angels have already picked sides. They are now watching to see what we will do. They may seem more powerful than we, because they are usually unseen. But, being invisible is not any more powerful than visibly loving... visibly restoring... visibly forgiving our fellow man. Angels are eager to participate with those who have identified with God’s kingdom by they way they conduct themselves. We don’t usually see them, but angels are watching us.
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