God's Angels
"Here begins the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. In the book of the prophet Isaiah, God said, 'Look, I am sending my messenger before you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness: Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him!'" Mark 1:1-3 (NLT).
The Good News of Jesus did not start with Jesus himself. It started with a messenger named John.
The word "messenger" in the original language is the word "angel." That's all the word "angel" really means - - simply, "messenger." John, then, was an angel. He was the beginning of the Good News for a lost world.
God has always worked through people to accomplish his purposes. I confess to you that this seems very risky, for humans are full of weaknesses, and shortcomings. Too often we let God down, and fail to do what he has asked us to do.
Yet, nonetheless, God believes in us, and knows that we have the potential to do great good if we allow his power to work in us. This is what he did with John.
Like John, we have been called to be angels. Yes, that's right. We are called to be angels - - messengers of God's Good News. We may not be a prophet or stand in the wilderness shouting to passersby, but we are angels nonetheless.
No, we don't have wings, and we don't fly. We don't have supernatural powers, and don't wear long, flowing, white robes. But we are angels in the truest sense of the word, for we are messengers of salvation. We may not shout, but we are called to speak. We may not preach, but we can share. God has chosen to reach the world through us, just as he chose John to prepare the way for Jesus. We are the beginning of the Good News in the lives of those around us, just as John was for Israel.
Now imagine if John had refused to speak? What would have happened? What if John had said, "Hey, I don't like calling attention to myself, so I'm going to remain quiet?" Or, "I don't discuss religion or politics with others." Or "Hey, it's not my job to tell others that Jesus is coming. Let the Pharisees or Sadducees do it!" Or, "I don't know the Old Testament well enough. What if someone asks me a question I can't answer?"
If John had said those things, Jesus' way would not have been prepared, and the Good News would not have been effective. At the very least, God would have had to raise up another person to do John's work.
Now the parallel is obvious. We tend to make excuses as to why we can't be God's messengers. We don't want to offend people. We're afraid we'll say the wrong thing. We fear being asked a question we can't answer, or that our lives aren't righteous enough to share Jesus with others who might notice we are less than perfect. Or, we think it's someone else's job - - someone who is more articulate than we are.
But the fact is that God is with us as he was with John. He has empowered us as he did John. We have the same Holy Spirit John had, and while John had a special, unique calling, we also have a calling. We are called to share Jesus with the world as opportunities offer themselves, and when the time is right.
We are God's angels. We are his messengers. We are to share the message of God's love to the world. And this message is not legalism and angry retort, but Good News. People need Good News. Don't you? We need a ray of hope to brighten our stressful days. We need to hear about a God who forgives, heals, and fills.
We are God's angels sent with this message. So who have you shared God's message with lately?