Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Littlest Angel
The bible passage that goes with this story is about Paul traveling on a boat with several sailors when a terrible storm hits that lasts for several days. It is so bad that they've had to discard a lot of their food and other items and their ship is falling apart. As they start to despair, Paul tells them that he was visited by an angel and that their ship would be destroyed, but all of them would live. A comment by a source I found on the internet said that God knew how much the men could take and that they needed some kind of hope to keep them from falling into utter despair and possibly becoming suicidal. This makes a lot of sense in the context of the story that we read, as this woman lost her daughter only a month before, seemed to be near poverty, and also had fallen seriously ill. I would imagine that she had to be nearly suicidal - but to have her daughter through God visit her - and save her - would perhaps be the reassurance she needed that her daughter was okay and in a better place and that would enable her to continue on. God has compassion and opens doors when others shut. It's amazing the twists and turns that life takes -
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm glad that Denise explained the passage from the Bible. I don't have a lot of background knowledge of the Bible and struggle to understand the verses. I had only read the first few sentences last night when I turned to Jake and told him how frustrated I was because I have to really think when it comes to connecting the verse and the story. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis week's passage made me feel sad. It reminded me of a "Core Knowledge" story that we teach in third grade, "The Little Match Girl." The story is set back in the time of Scrooge (history buffs can fill in the date here) and the little girl goes out on a cold, snowy Christmas night wearing rags and no shoes on. The little girl begins to dream of her grandmother and a beautiful Christmas dinner (hallucinating) and is found the next morning, dead. It is a very sad story and I don't understand why it is in the curriculum but it makes the kids think about appreciating the things they have and how we need to think about others.
Angels do exist. Another bible verse in the reading, Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are ministering spirits sent to those who believe in God. Why they are there in some instances and not in others, I don't know. Only God has those answers. Daniel 10 in the Bible is a confusing chapter but it basically states that God sent a messenger (heavenly being) to Daniel in answer to his prayers, but the messenger was delayed by a powerful spiritual being for 3 weeks but Daniel faithfully continued to pray. The messenger eventually arrived to Daniel, assisted by Michael, the archangel. The notes on this chapter state that this was a battle between good and evil and answers to our prayers may be hindered by evil forces so pray fervently and earnestly. (This has been my question for awhile: Do our prayers help give angels strength? I like to think so.) What God wants is for us to trust Him and pray.
ReplyDeleteHave any of you felt like you have experienced an angel from God? I sometimes think that God doesn't just send angels (heavenly beings) but I think he uses people to act as angels for us.
ReplyDeleteI will be honest and say that I once again had a hard time believing this story. That's why I haven't responded to this post before today...I just didn't know what to write aside from doubting the story. It's not that I don't believe God is capable of doing things like this. I just have a hard time believing He does actually do those things. On the other hand, I can't prove he didn't send an angel down to help this woman. Maybe if I do get one thing out of this book it will stronger faith in God. I guess I will continue to pray to God for this.
ReplyDelete