Musings About Hypocrites and Angels
What do you do when you’re a writer and you have to make a blog post, but you can’t think of anything to write?
That’s not totally true. I started to write on two different topics, but just didn’t feel comfortable with how they turned out.
The first one started out as a follow-up to last week’s blog, “The Comfort Zone.” After writing that blog I realized that my description of how I learned to step out of my comfort zone sounded a lot like putting on an act. We’re supposed to be genuine, right? Authentic. Keepin’ it real.
To avoid any misunderstandings I started writing about how some people do put on an act. We all know the “Sunday Morning Christians.” Very little good can come from that. Just to clarify, when I push myself in a social situation, I’m still being myself. I’m just forcing myself to fight the introvert within. In many situations – like when I’m teaching or speaking in public I rely heavily on the power of the Holy Spirit. There are many times I leave my Senior Adult Sunday School class, and I really don’t know what I said. Or I remember an illustration I used that just came to me as I was talking. That was the Holy Spirit. (Oh man, if any of my class members read this my secret will be out!)
In that blog article that didn’t pass the muster I gave an extreme, but true, example.
George (not his real name) was owner/manager of a factory where I worked as receptionist for a few years. He said he was a Christian. I can’t judge that fact. He sang in churches and gave his testimony. He was an elder and very active in his church, but only God knows the heart.
He didn’t hide the fact that he was a Christian, and all of his employees knew he went to church. At Christmas he sponsored a meal for all the employees, and after we ate he stood up and shared the Gospel. I sat there appalled. This wasn’t my normal reaction to the sharing of the Gospel, but I understood something that George did not. I understood that every man and woman at that meal had experienced his explosive temper. They saw signs of deceit, and many had been treated like crap.
I also knew that one man had asked one of the office girls where George went to church because he wanted to make sure not to ever go there. Ouch.
That wasn’t stepping out of his comfort zone. That was George making everyone else UNcomfortable.
Anyway, the rest of the article just wasn’t working so I’ve set it aside for now.
The second article I attempted explored the activity of angels in my life. I don’t have the spectacular, awe-inspiring story that many of you might be able to tell, but since my experience resulted in my life being saved it’s meaningful to me.
The incident happened about 16 years ago. I was stopped on a two-lane highway waiting to turn left. There was a lot of traffic coming towards me, so I had a bit of a wait. As I sat there I just happened to glance up at my rearview mirror. An 18-wheeler was about a quarter of a mile away barrelling towards me at a high rate of speed. And the traffic was still coming towards me, so there was nowhere for me to go. I suppose I should have been terrified, but I actually found the situation interesting. It didn’t seem real. Could this really be happening? Was I about to die?
What took place in a matter of seconds felt like minutes. I watched the truck getting closer and closer. I absently wondered how hard the collision would be and would I feel it. Then at the last minute the truck veered to the right and onto the berm of the road just far enough to avoid hitting me.
He cleared me by mere inches, and my whole car shook like it had been exposed to a hurricane.
How to interpret this incident? How was I spared? Here’s one way to look at it: Captains Kirk and Picard were both yelling, “Shields! Shields!” And the shields were raised just in time to prevent the Klingon warship from destroying my car.
The other way to look at it may seem just as fantastical. Have you read any of Frank Peretti’s books? The only one I’ve read was This Present Darkness. The novel portrayed the unseen world – the battle between angels and demons that goes on around us though we are never aware of them.
From that very day I believed the unseen world was at work. For many years I pictured a single angel, standing spread-eagle to form a shield as the truck roared past. I’m reconsidering that now. Yes, that shield angel was there. But I think there were others giving him a hand. The first one to act leaned into the truck and shoved it to the right towards the side of the road. Another angel was busy pushing my car towards the center of the road. They only needed a few inches to allow clearance because the final step was to build a shield between me and the truck.
It’s a moment I’ll always remember. Obviously God still had work for me to do, and I’m pleased to say He has led me into that work.
Well, I’m sorry I couldn’t think of anything to write about this week. I’ll be back next week with more thoughts and memories.
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