“For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” ~ Hebrews 2:5-9

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” ~ Psalm 8:3-9

“But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”  ~Philippians 2:7

On one hand you have angels.  It’s’ amazing to me how the world has taken angels and made them into cartoonish beings that show up in a diaper wearing some big wings on their back.  We see person pass away and we like to think that they will become our guardian angel.  Not so folks.  God created angels for several jobs but regardless of their job, they were never one of us.  When God created the angels he created a set number of angels.  In their celestial form, they neither get old nor die.  They are eternal beings.  How many angels did God create?  I have no idea.  I know that there is at least one angel designated for each born again Christian.  The Bible teaches that.  I know that there are seraphins and cheribuns that were created to Worship God around His throne.  Then I know that 1/3 of the angels fell along with Lucifer.  Other than being created by God, one thing we have in common with angels is free will.  The ability to choose whatever direction we want for our lives.  Along with that free will comes the consequences for our choices.

Lucifer stood at the very throne of God.  He led the angels in worship.  I believe with all my heart that he was at one point in time one of the top three angels God ever created.  However, somewhere between singing the second and the third “Holy,” Lucifer began to imagine himself in the place of God.  With that image came a decision to try to exalt himself into a place of worship.  His consequences are an eternity with no chance of redemption.

Then there are humans.  Much like the angels they were created by the very hands of God and also given the absolute freedom to make their own decisions.    While the angels were created to dwell in the heavens and to worship God at His throne, men were created to inhabit and rule over the earth and worship Him here.  Like Lucifer before them, Adam and Eve made decisions that would change the direction of their existance.  Adam and Even, like Lucifer believed that they could become “like God.”

That’s where the similarities come to an end.  At the moment that Adam took his damning bite a plan for redemption was set into motion.  In my mind’s eye I can imagine God the Father looking at Jesus and saying “it’s time.”  The angels around the throne shrug their shoulders as the Holy Spirit begins His work and then a thundering “gasp” as Jesus says “I will go.”

The book of Revelation tells us that the angels do not understand humans, their relationship with God or the redemption that God was about to provide.  However, I believe they caught a small glimpse that day.  As Jesus got up from His seat at the right hand of the Father and stepped out of Heaven.  He didn’t become an angel.  The angels couldn’t save us from our sin.  They couldn’t die for us.  Jesus in His heavenly state couldn’t save us from our sin.  So He stepped down out of Heaven and took upon Himself human flesh.  The angels must have been so confused.  The Creator of the universe had just become lesser than they.  Go back to the scriptures from Hebrews and the Psalms.  Humans were created to be “a little lower” than the angels.  They would have just a little more strength and just a little more power than humans.

So you have Adam and Eve in the garden.  Fellowship with God has just been broken.  Death was imminent.  Jesus would make Himself sin.  He would wrap Himself in flesh.  HE would become a little lower than His own creation.  Why?  Because He had to become human.  He would humiliate Himself to save us.  Why didn’t they do this for the angels?  I don’t know.  All I know is that He came.  He came to feel our pain.  He came to feel our weariness.  He came to feel our broken heart.  He came to pay the price for our sin.  He made Himself lower than the angels just for us.  He left Heaven…just for us.

Fast forward just a bit.  Jesus has already died on the cross.  He has already paid the penalty.  He has already ascended to the Father.  Now, He’s getting ready to come back for His bride….the church.  What happens then?  Well, no longer is Jesus lower than the angels.  He has finished the job.  He has come to get His church and now when He takes us back to Heaven with Him, we will become “like Him” because we will see Him “as He is.”  Did you get that?  What just happened?  We were just promoted.  Created to be just a “little lower” than the angels,we are now singing a song of redemption that the angels are not allowed to sing.  We are now joint heirs with Christ.  You see, Jesus, the Son of God, became the Son of Man so that we could in turn become “the Sons of God.”

Are you kidding me?

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”

God sent His only begotten Son to redeem us from our stupid decisions.  He saw fit pay for our sins.  Why?  I’m not completely sure.  All I know is….I’m glad He did.  One day, the Bible says, I will have a part in judging angels.  I believe that includes Lucifer. I’ll get to reign with my Savior, who bought and paid for my salvation with His own blood.

What’s the point of all this rambling?

Myyyyyy soul, look at how much He loves us.  How can I not serve Him with my life?

“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”