
I stood behind a podium in the funeral home staring at a crowd of a couple hundred people. With sweat beading on my forehead, a lump in my throat, and a knot in my stomach, I repeated the only thing I believed could help in this dreadful momentāhope from the Scriptures. Between the crowd and me was a casket that was exactly three feet in length with a child that was way too young inside of it. The funeral of a short-lived lifeĀ areĀ never easy to officiate.
No matter the age, death is an inescapable reality for all of us. Ironically, many of us fear the death of family and friends more than we fear our own death. Itās this kind of death that produces extreme pain that stirs our emotions to grasp at any hope we can muster to cause our hearts a brief moment of rest from the affects of brokenness overĀ unbearableĀ loss. In the midst of this grasping and searching for the right words to help others, or to even to soothe our own souls, we tend to believe and say things that are not necessarily biblically true.
Too many times to count, in seasons such as these Iāve heard people say and/or post on social media,Ā āGod gained another angel today.āĀ This brings on a cause for cringe, but I also strongly believe that itās not helpful to dive into theological debates while someone is in the midst of extreme hurt. Often, the best thing we can do in these times of loss is to hurt with them, hold them, and just listen. However, in moments when cooler heads and hearts can prevail, we will be significantly more encouraged and empowered by biblical truth than we will ever be by pithy statements. Especially, ones that arenāt even true.
Here is the plain and simple truth. Humans are humans, and angels are angels. This remains so even in eternity. In fact, angels are intrigued by the interaction between God and His āimage-bearingā humans:Ā āIt was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look (1 Peter 1:12).ā
Itās actually better for you to be human than it is for you to be an angel. Most Bible scholars believe that the Scriptural accounts ofĀ Ezekiel 28:12 ā 18, Isaiah 14:12 ā 14,Ā andĀ Revelation 12:4Ā describe the fall of Lucifer (a formerĀ angel) and one-third of the angels (now considered demons) that joined his revolt against holy God. Whatās sobering about the accounts of these fallen angels is that their judgments were final, with no hope of redemption, forgiveness, or grace. I believe this what theĀ 1 PeterĀ passage is discussing, when he says,Ā āthings which angels long to look.āĀ They are astonished by Godās unconditional love for you!