In 1987, a little movie called, Date With An Angel, came out. It was a silly romantic comedy starring Michael E. Knight (of All My Children fame), Phoebe Cates (of Fast Times at Ridgemont High fame), and the not-quite-as-famous, Emmanuelle Beart as the angel. It was no huge hit. It only gets 5.8 stars out of 10 on IMDB. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s funny and sweet, and oddly enough, one of my favorite movies. I can quote many lines from this movie even though I haven’t seen it for years. (After writing this, I am going to find it and watch it again though!) For all the movies silly little antics and scenarios, there is a scene at the end of the movie that I just love. The angel comes to escort Michael E. Knight’s character to heaven when he dies. It’s actually a beautifully depicted scene. I will never forget the first time I saw it. I got tears in my eyes. It was quite a surprise to have such a poignant moment in this funny little movie, and it was pretty close to how I had always imagined that moment to be like.
Death comes to us all. Being raised a doctor’s daughter in a small town, that is something I have been aware of since I was a very young child. I have pondered on my Death Angel many, many times. Now a Death Angel is not to be confused with the idea of an Angel of Death. Typically, the Angel of Death is thought of in darker terms. It comes bringing death to you, but a Death Angel (as I like to call it) comes to escort you to heaven when your life has ended. Jesus Himself talked of the angels that take us to heaven when He told of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke:16, One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.
Emmanuelle Beart’s portrayal of an angel was pretty good. She had a sweet, innocent countenance. Very ethereal. For many years now, I have been fixated on the idea that my Death Angel will be Penelope Cruz or Sofia Vergara. Perhaps I will get lucky enough that it will be both of them…jackpot! For me, I can think of absolutely nothing more comforting and loving than Penelope and Sofia being with me at my moment of death and speaking to me in their lovely Spanish accents. Just makes me take a deep breath, my last, and let it out and say, “Ahhh”. Heavenly! And off to the Pearly Gates we go. Now this idea is very precious to me, and I am very serious about it. However, I decided to share it recently with my women’s bible study group. The lesson we were studying turned to a discussion of angels, and I felt brave enough to share with my sisters. Just as I was finishing up what I believed to be a very thorough and convincing argument of the angelic qualities Penelope and Sofia possess, my best friend Darbi, chimes in and says, “Well, knowing your luck it’ll probably be Danny DeVito!” As you can imagine, the laughter ensued. That was pretty dang funny! You can always count on your best friend to keep it real. While I have nothing against Danny DeVito, he’s not quite my idea of the perfect Death Angel.
Angels are real. They are an important part of God’s plan. They do important work for Him. Some of the jobs they do are: worship and praise of the Heavenly Father (Isaiah 6:1-3), deliver messages from God (Acts 7:52-53), guide humans (Matthew chapters 1 & 2), protect His people (Daniel 3 & 6), and escorting the saved to heaven (Luke 16). However, angels are not to be worshiped by man. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thy serve. Luke 4:8 Man must not make the mistake of placing angels above Jesus or our Heavenly Father. So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs. Hebrews 1:4 There is nothing wrong with being interested in angels, fascinated by them, or loving them, but we must not lose sight of where our adoration and worship must be aimed. I, myself, am fascinated by them. I have several depictions of them in my home. I love them, but I know their place, and I respect it. Angels are not humans. Humans are humans; angels are angels. God created us, and He created them…as He created everything in the universe. By Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17 But God did not send His only Son to die on a cross for angels. He sent His Son for us. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounding you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24 OUR sins…not the sins of angels.
I thank the Lord for all His wondrous creations, including the ones I have yet to see. Dear Heavenly Father, if you would just hear the request of your humble servant and please, dear Lord, don’t send Danny DeVito to get me when I die.
Just now, I have a Date With An Angel to keep. This one is of the cinematic kind until it is time for the other.
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