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1 Let
brotherly love continue. 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for
thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember them
that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as
being yourselves also in the body. (Heb 13:1-3)
The reality of the interaction of angels with God’s chosen
people, as well as those who are lost in trespasses and sin, is well recorded
in Holy Scripture. Hagar met with the Angel of the Lord twice in the
Wilderness. The Angel of the Lord stayed the hand of Abraham to spare Isaac
from sacrifice. The same Angel appeared to Moses at the Burning Bush and Passed
Over the Chosen of God in old Egypt. There are too many instances to enumerate
in a simple devotion, but I would be remiss if I did not mention that important
visitation of the Angel Gabriel to the young virgin, Mary, 26 And in the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the
virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail,
thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among
women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his
saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel
said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of
the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father
David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for
ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke
1:26-33)
In the case of Abraham on the plains of Mamre (Genesis
18:1-8) three angels appeared to Abraham, and one of these was the Lord. The
Greek word for angel is ‘Aggelos,’ meaning a messenger sent by God – or an
envoy of God. The definition does not restrict angels to heavenly beings for
they often appear as men. But I believe that each of us can be messengers of
God to the needy and hurting around us.
I like to relate an incident that happened to me 55 years ago in the Tennessee
foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains which I shall never forget.
One Friday night in the Fall of
1961, I had a date with a really nice and pretty young lady to go to a ball
game in Copper Hill, Tennessee. I was a high school student and didn't really
know my way around much - but thought that I did. I borrowed my mother's car
and picked up my date.
We had to drive about 50 mile
through the mountains of East Tennessee to get to the game. It was a really
lonely and desolate drive, the moon was out in its brilliance and reflected off
the waters of Lake Ocoee as we drove. The mountains stood brooding and joyless
on the opposite side of the road.
When we reached the halfway point
in our travels, I had a flat tire. No problem. I went to the trunk to get the
spare and there WAS no spare. Later I learned that my mother had left it at a
service station for repair and forgot to pick it up. An automobile would pass
by only about every 10 minutes. I did not know what to do, and I was also
concerned for my date.
Finally, I began to signal any car
that came by for help. At last a pickup truck stopped full of hunters. I
offered $20.00 to them to take me the 20 miles to Copper Hill to get the tire
repaired (it was all I had). They declined saying that they had been away from
home for 3 days and wanted to get back to their families - as if 40 minutes
more would have made a difference.
They acted sad to leave us - but
they did! After a few more minutes I saw a car coming around the mountain
slopes in the distance. He was really driving fast, but in desperation I signaled
him to stop. It was a rough, older model car. The occupants were two of the
roughest looking men I had ever seen. They had long sideburns (which was
unusual at that time -1961 - in East Tennessee) and several days growth of
beards. They were dirty to boot. Now I wished I had not stopped them. They
asked gruffly, "What's the problem, boy?"
I asked if they would take me to
Copper Hill, Tennessee (about 20 miles) to fix the flat. I offered again the
$20 bill if they would take me. They looked gruffly at each other and said,
"Get in!" I asked if my fiancée could go, as I was afraid to leave
her on the desolate road. They shook their heads affirmatively.
I felt very uncomfortable as we
began to drive off. I was fearful that they might just kill me outright and
rape my fiancée. All sorts of possibilities filled my young imagination. Then
as they began driving 70+ miles an hour around the mountain roads I began to be
concerned less about them and more about being killed by plunging headlong down
the mountainside.
Finally we arrived at a service
station in Copper Hill. They got the tire from the trunk for me and had it
repaired, for which THEY paid. They bought my date and me a coke. And we headed
back.
Arriving back at my mother's car,
they replaced the tire onto the wheel themselves and waited to see if the car
battery was not drained from the flashing caution lights we had left on. The
car started and I got out to pay the two rough-riders for their trouble. When I
offered the money, they looked at each other and the driver said, "No. You
keep your money, son. Our reward will come when you find someone who needs help
and you give it." That was all. They drove off to see their own families
that had been waiting one month to see them at Gatlinburg. They were big,
strong railroad workers and came home only once each month. They also had very
BIG hearts.
I learned a really valuable lesson
that night - angels can be bright and shiny, but they can also appear as dirty,
grimy workmen, and . . . you can't judge a book by its cover!
These two taught me early in life
to stop and help when someone needs it regardless of my own schedule.
Thanks for reading my true story.
©Jerry Ogles, 1998
and 2016
