What do memoirists have in common with angels?

Last week we compared memoirists to Christmas shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. (If you missed it, click on What do memoirists have in common with shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night?)

Today let’s see how memoirists are like the Christmas angel who spoke to those shepherds in their fields.

Angels: Even though I’ve read about them in the Bible and sing Christmas songs about them, I admit I haven’t given them a lot of thought. But here’s what I’m learning:

The Hebrew word for “angel” means “messenger.” In the Bible, we see angels as messengers sent by God, agents of God.

“God has a limitless host of heavenly messengers who watch out for us, help us, and inspire us,” writes Lloyd Ogilvie in Silent Strength for My Life.

“The New Testament is filled with references to angels. They announced Jesus’ birth, ministered to Him after the temptation . . . and were present at the tomb on Easter morning.

“Angels mediated strength and hope to the apostles and played an active part in the growth of the early church.”

And then Ogilvie points out this: “And they are active in our lives today.”

Have you ever thought about angels being active in your life?

Maybe, like me, you’ve assumed angels were ancient beings from Bible times, but no, God still sends His angels to minister to you and me and our loved ones.

Think about that for a minute. Think about the time when someone looked you in the eye and spoke words to sustain you. Did it occur to you that he might be an angel, a messenger of God?

Maybe when you were scared out of your wits, someone encouraged you to be brave instead of afraid. Had God sent you an angel?

Perhaps a friend sent you a card when you were sick and promised to pray for you. An angel?

Maybe someone called and prayed with you. An angel?

But there’s another aspect of angels, messengers of the Lord.

“You and I are meant to be angels,” Lloyd Ogilvie continues. “We are to be messengers of the Good News, hope, and encouragement. . . . We know how much people need love, affirmation, and practical help.”

When I read that, it occurred to me that memoirists and angels have that purpose in common: to be messengers of all kinds of good news, hope, and encouragement.

Let’s look at that Bible passage about the Christmas angel:

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them [the shepherds],

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,

‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy

that will be for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths

and lying in a manger.’”

(Luke 2:9-12)

First, try to imagine how startled those shepherds must have been

when, on that silent night,

out of the vast, black, hushed heavens,

“God’s angel stood among them

and God’s glory blazed around them.

They were terrified” (Luke 2:9, The Message).

“The darkness was replaced by a glorious light—

the shining light of God’s glory” (The Voice).

“Suddenly . . . the radiance of the Lord’s glory

surrounded them” (NLT).

Those shepherds were frightened! Terrified! Wouldn’t you be, too?

But the angel hurried to reassure them: Don’t be scared. Just listen: I have good news for you.

Think about a memoir you could write—a memoir you need to write before it’s too late. Writing a book can be a daunting, rugged task, but if you finish it and hand it to others, you, a messenger of God, could encourage readers not to be afraid (verse 10).

If you finish your memoir, because of you, as an angel, a messenger of God, others might: 

• learn about the Savior (Luke 2:11)
• choose to be an overcomer
• change their parenting style
• love their spouse in a better way
• eat healthier food
• choose joy instead of bitterness
• make God the top priority (see Mark 12:30)
• learn how to avoid mistakes and make good decisions
• live a life of integrity rather than compromise
• choose generosity over selfishness
• forgive others
• realize they aren’t alone in fighting addictions
• cling to hope despite illness and repeated years of disappointments (see Kathleen Pooler’s new memoir, Just the Way He Walked: A Mother’s Story of Healing and Hope)
• open their eyes to new possibilities and change the course of their lives
• and so much more!

Writing books, speaking words, sending handwritten notes—all are ministries carried out by the Lord’s angels.

Believe it—

God can use you as one of His angels,

one of His messengers

of all things good.

What an honor. What a privilege.

What do memoirists have in common with shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night?

It never occurred to me that memoirists have something in common with shepherds watching over their flocks by night— that is, not until I heard my son-in-law Brian’s Christmas sermon. That morning it became clear that we memoirists are more like those shepherds than we might have realized.

Yes, shepherds—those behind-the-scenes guys we sing about in Christmas carols, the ones we read about in the Bible in Luke 2. 

They were simply, quietly doing their daily chores when—bam!

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,

‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy

that will be for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths

and lying in a manger.’”

(Luke 2:9-12)

An angel is a messenger sent by God—did you know? The Bible refers to angels a lot.

That night the angel of the Lord gave a stunning message to the shepherds—something about good news. Something about a Savior. And about a baby—a baby lying in a manger, of all things!

That must have sounded wacky to them, don’t you think?

But God was offering them a moment of clarity:

Somehow, they knew this was a divine encounter,

that they stood on holy ground,

and that they had to take the angel’s message seriously.

So they said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and check it out!” (verse 16).

I picture them: Wild-eyed. Breathless.

“They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished. . . . [and] they went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:16-20, NLT).

They were never the same after that encounter, after the night God gave them a moment of clarity.

Similarly, “God gives us moments of clarity,” son-in-law Brian said, “in the same way the angel of the Lord gave clarity to those shepherds.”

Think about moments of clarity God has sprung on you—pivotal points in your life, defining moments.

They can occur while you’re carrying out everyday duties. “Pay attention to God,” Brian said. “He can speak to you in even routine events.”

Think back to a time when you, like the shepherds, were carrying out your normal routines—maybe a little bored, or maybe wondering if your life had any significance at all—when your life took an unexpected turn. And the result: a moment of clarity.

Let’s look at the shepherds: 

• Because God sent an angel,
• and because the shepherds paid attention to the angel’s message,
• and because they followed up and verified the message,
• and because this resulted in a moment of clarity for the shepherds,
• they “told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished” (Luke 2:17-18),
• they praised God for what He told and showed them,
• and the shepherds’ story has lived on long after they died, blessing many generations.

The shepherds shared their story. That’s what memoirists do:

• We tell others our stories of what happened.
• And when we see how our all-powerful, all-loving God showed Himself to us in our circumstances, we can’t help but praise and worship Him!
• And our stories can live on long after we die, blessing many generations.

That reminds me of the following Bible verses:

“Tell everyone about the amazing things God does. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise” (1 Chronicles 16:24-25).

Jesus said, “Go tell your family everything God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).

“Always remember what you’ve seen God do and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

“We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s power and his great deeds and the wonderful things he has done. He . . . instructed our ancestors to teach his laws to their children, so that the next generation might learn them and in turn should tell their children. In this way they will also put their trust in God and not forget what he has done, but always obey his commandments” (Psalm 78:4b, 6-7, Good News Translation).

“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done” (Psalm 105:1).

“Sing praises to the Lord, proclaim what He has done” (Psalm 9:11).

“Declare [God’s] glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3).

“The Lord has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world” (Isaiah 12:5).

Jesus said, “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs” (Matthew 10:27).

When God gives us moments of clarity

and changes our lives,

He urges us to tell others our stories

in the same way the shepherds told theirs.

Brian concluded his sermon with this encouragement:

“Those shepherds were just regular guys

who shared the message of light and hope and peace.

We should do the same.”