Angels Among Us

Steve Hanks is our favorite living watercolorist. His rendering of the human form has a draftsman's precision. But his shading of skin tones has to be a gift of the Creator. You have to be born with it, I think. Gosh, he's good.

This painting is titled "There Are Angels Among Us".

OK, which one is the angel? Woman walking the dog? The dog? Guy walking away? Guy in the background with his kid? Couple way in the background?

The woman in black?

Guy wearing the hoodie?

Kids would be willing to hazard a guess. Probably won't get a peep out of adults. Too afraid of being "wrong".

"Pastor wants me to say it's the homeless guy in the hoodie." That's what we might think.

"Or maybe it's the gal in black... Do angels really wear black? Could they?"

How might your answer about the angel question change if I asked this:

"OK, hold the answer to who the angel is. Meanwhile, ask this question: Who is the Christ?"

While you ponder, ponder another question. Is there someone else in the picture you haven't seen yet?

How about the person whose eyes are seeing this picture? How about you?

Rob Bell in his breathtaking short film DVD "Open" poses this thought. Maybe God wants to involve you in the answer to prayer. Then he gets to the meat. "Don't ask God to feed a hungry person if you have plenty of food."

We have no idea what act of kindness and grace anyone in the painting has just performed--or is about to. Even the person behind the eyes that see the scene before us.

There are angels among us. And so is Christ. So are you.

Amen.

Roger