Are Some People Angels?

Are Some People Angels?

Dear Bro. Waddey:
A friend stopped for gas on a cold winter evening. She chanced to see a young woman standing next to an old suburban weeping. She tried to comfort her and found her down and out. There were several kids in the vehicle and they were trying to get to her family in California. She was so touched that she bought them food and filled their gas tank. She says that God sent her there as an angel to help the poor family. Could this be right?
-Jerrie

Dear Jerrie:
I enjoyed reading about the lady who stepped forward to assist the poor lady with her children. It is a good example of Christian charity at work. The Bible teaches us to "do good unto all men, especially them of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). The story of the rich man and Lazarus reminds us of the duties of the prosperous to the poor (Luke 16:19-21). The judgment scene where Christ noted the benevolence or lack thereof in assigning heaven or hell (Matt. 25:31-46) is a lesson about our duty to the unfortunate.

The word "angel" means "a messenger." There are angels of God, angels of the Devil and earthly angels. In our everyday conversation we use the word "angel" pretty loosely. We often describe our children or our sweethearts as angels. We speak of our departed loved ones as now being angels in heaven. These romantic and poetic uses of the word sometimes lead to confusion. This is especially true in our day when the "New Age" movement has made angels a matter of everyday conversation and with movies, TV shows, plays and novels about angels.

When we see a person in need and reach out to assist them, we are being good disciples of Christ, doing what he expects of us. Although the person helped may think we are an angel, that is not the biblical meaning of the term. When your friend went home she was still the same person as before, although she probably slept well because she had helped that poor family along their way.

Back -- or go -- Home