“ …‘the LORD seeth not as man seeth;
for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.’”
1 Samuel 16:7
This time of
year assaults us with the obvious “too much” of the holiday season: red and
green, Santas, nativity scenes, silver bells and sensory overload at every
turn.
During this
season, we also see the abundance of angels. It’s almost as much of an
association with Christmas as the Baby Savior Himself.
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will toward men.’”
Luke 2:13-14
Indeed, angels
are everywhere throughout Scripture:
“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee
in all thy ways.”
Psalm 91:11
“The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.”
Matthew 13:41
“And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of man.”
John 1:51
“Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he
covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And
one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the
voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”
Isaiah 6:2-4
Yeah, angels,
angels, everywhere.
And, in and of itself, that’s okay. However,
things can go wonky when we come to the table with our own thoughts about
anything, angels included.
Now we’re in
my domain. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been obsessed with angels. It
had nothing to do with them being messengers of the Most High. C’mon, let’s be
real. It did, however, have everything to
do with their beauty. As a little girl, what wasn’t to love about them? The
silky, (usually blonde) flowing hair, the beautiful glowing faces, the exquisite
wings and gowns, often trimmed with gold. Angels are beautiful. We’re drawn in,
transfixed. And some of us even create beauty templates based upon those
images. I did.
At the height
of my anorexia, I strove to weigh as little as possible, to embody a fragile
image. Emaciated equaled fragile; fragile equaled ethereal. And ethereal
equaled beautiful. There have been, after, no overweight angels (with the
exception of cherubs), unless used for some kind of comic effect. Indeed, when
it comes to reverential depiction of holiness and all things Divine, angels are
beautiful; they are ethereal.
Again, in and of itself, nothing wrong with
that.
But all ethereal is not good ethereal. Or, as 2 Corinthians 11:14 puts it…
“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an
angel of light.”
Yikes.
Yes, for
some of us out there, a beautiful, delicate appearance may hide an ugly and
dangerous reality. Especially when it concerns anorexia. For me, it did not
take long for peoples’ comments of “Sheryle, you’re thin” or “Sheryle, you’ve
lost weight” to go from a compliment to worried statement. And a delicate
aesthetic soon turned into a life-threatening reality. If 100 pounds was
ethereal, how much more would 90 pounds or lower be? You see the mind game in
full effect, don’t you?
And I played
that game, never realizing how I was already
amazing, beautiful and destined for Elohim’s purpose.
“…I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Psalm 139:14
“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou
hast doves' eyes.”
Song of Solomon 1:15
“O my dove…let me see your form…for your form is lovely.”
Song of Solomon 2:14
“Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.”
Song of Solomon 4:7
“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a
good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6
No angelic
resemblance required.
And speaking of angelic resemblance, look
again at what Scripture has to say about that:
“You made them a
little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor.”
Hebrews 2:7
Not too
shabby.
It’s no
secret human beings are attracted to beauty. After all, we take after The One
Who creates beauty.
And this
time of year, with dramatic displays of such glorious beauty, spectacular
angels included, we will come face to face with the luster of the ethereal.
Some of us may, therefore, need to heed the caution of being triggered by
these, our image issues. Let’s, the, leave the ethereal to the angels, while
remembering and reveling in our own incredible value, worth and, yes, beauty.
We ARE
fearfully and wonderfully made, as is, right now, period. Our Creator has
decided; it is so.
Let’s agree
with Him and enjoy not just the holiday season, but our entire lives, fully
realizing and celebrating how beyond
ethereal we truly are!
Copyright © 2021 by Sheryle Cruse
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