It hit me the other day, while reading Hebrews 2:16, that the fallen angels have no hope. The verse in the NIV translation reads, "For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants." The "he" mentioned refers to Jesus, and the help is his atoning death for us, so that one day we can dance and sing and worship and laugh in the presence of our Father.
I pray for the angels. Sounds weird, but they've got a huge job fighting for us. Every day they have to look evil dead in the eye. We can pull the blinders over our eyes and go to our 'happy place' when the world gets too much to handle, but they can't. So I pray that God give them renewal and strength to handle the day's battles.
On that fateful day when Lucifer challenged God and God cast him out of heaven, I wonder if he had the sinking feeling that I often do after making a really big mistake. I wonder if he wanted to turn around, repent and ask for God's forgiveness. I'm sure Adam and Eve did, and God heard their request. Through Jesus, the Father made it possible for humankind to once again be with their creator..to "share a meal together as friends." (Rev 3:20)
But Hebrews makes it clear that the salvation offered by Jesus is not for the angels, but only for us. What must it be like to have no hope at all? ..to sink into despair and anger and utter desolation and darkness where even death is not an option? Angels are eternal beings. Lucifer and those that so foolishly followed him face an eternity in this pit of anguish. No wonder they are so evil, so filled with hate. They have absolutely no hope. No hope that things will ever get better. No hope for peace. No hope for love.
You know how sometimes you can read the same verse in Scripture over and over and then one time you read it and BAM! something new jumps out at you? (Thanks, Emeril, for letting me borrow your tag line!) That's what happened to me with this passage the other day. No matter how dark our days get, or how labored we feel, or how much money we've lost in our 401K's, we can always lay our head on the pillow at night and have hope that tomorrow will bring something better. The hope we feel isn't unjustified wishing. Hope comes from having seen God do it before in our own lives, or for the younger, not-so-world-wise folk having heard it told by those who've lived it. Hope comes from truly understanding what God gave up in order for us to have it. Hope comes from a baby in a manger cradle, who lived his life perfectly and humbly, and died shamefully.
This is the season we Christians celebrate hope. If you choose not to celebrate the birth of Christ at this time of year, I encourage you to look closely in what or whom you put your hope. Are they/ is it reliable? Steadfast? Never failing..under any circumstances? Christ is. His hope is available to all, and it's all you'll ever need.
Merry Christmas!
