It 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, ESV)
I was reading an account of the recent Match 3, in which Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley defeated Steph Curry and Peyton Manning. Curry and Manning were the favorites. Two very good amateurs versus one very good professional and one very not-so-good amateur.
The reporter who penned the account thought that made sense, until it didn’t. He subsequently decided that anyone and a professional are likely to be better than two amateurs. Having been around the game for a long time, I’d say, “Yep.” And I’d say it with feeling.
If you’ve spent any time on a golf course with a professional player, male or female, you’ve probably seen shots that have something special about them. The French have a phrase that applies well here: je ne sais quoi. It means something that can’t be adequately described, an undefinable quality.
In short, the pros play a kind of game into which we “long to look.”
Does it surprise you to know that we ordinary humans experience something in our relationship with God into which angels long to look?
In short, the pros play a kind of game into which we ‘long to look.’Angels, of course, are very cool. The first human encounter with an angel we read about in Scripture was experienced by Hagar. She had run away from Sarai because of ill treatment. The angel found her by a spring of water, called her “Hagar, Servant of Sarai,” and had a brief conversation with her. He then told her to go back to Sarai, and also told her about the son she soon would bear.
In response she named the spring for him, calling it The Living One Who Sees Me.
But the angel was a messenger, not the seer himself. In fact, angels do all kinds of things for God, including delivering messages, acting as a guide, fighting for God’s people, and even destroying both places and people. They are the ultimate servants, and they often wield great power.
Yet what Paul called “the amazing mystery of our faith” (1 Timothy 3:16) seems to be reserved for humankind alone.
Angels, said one commentator, “have only the contrast between good and evil without the power of conversion from sin to righteousness.” They cannot experience salvation by God’s grace, but they see it when a sinner comes to God, and they rejoice (see Luke 15:10).
The next time you see someone give their life to Christ, please be at least as excited as you are when you see a tour pro hit an amazing shot. And if you haven’t already, when you give your life to Christ, know that angels in heaven are on their feet and cheering like crazy for you.
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Lewis Greer
December 9, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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