Children of Bethlehem: The Cherub

CHILDREN OF BETHLEHEM

THE CHERUB

By Robert Allen

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:13-14

A monolog for a pre-teen girl.

            I am not the littlest angel.  I just choose to appear to be small when people see me, like now.  You realize, of course, that we angels don’t have bodies.  We are spirit beings.  I like to think of it this way.  You have a spirit that is hidden by your body.  I have a body that is hidden by my spirit.

            Anyway, many years ago the Heavenly Father told us about his plan to one day send the Son to earth as a baby.  So a group of us decided that in honor of that event, every time we appeared in bodily form we would choose to look like a child.  We even have a name for ourselves.  We are cherubs.  The cherub choir.

            We didn’t decide to do it just on Christmas Eve.  We decided to do it in perpetuity.  Don’t you just love that word?  Perpetuity.  The Son was going to become a man in perpetuity and so we decided to look like children forever and ever and ever. 

            Actually there are some advantages to looking like a child.  When the angel choir appeared to the shepherds we were seated right in the front row because everyone else could see over the top of us.  When they became afraid of all the seraphim and archangels who appeared so suddenly, we knew they would listen to us when we told them not to be afraid.  Who would ever be afraid of a child?  And when we told them that God had been born as a baby, they could see right in front of their eyes other heavenly beings who looked like children.  I will tell you this, when we saw the eyes of those shepherds light up with understanding and belief we knew we had made the right decision when we chose to become cherubs.

            What a night that was.  We were all there when Gabriel made the initial heralding about the good news which would bring great joy.  We were just there in our spirit beings so the shepherds would think Gabriel was alone and not be too afraid.  We could hardly wait until it was time for us to join in the announcement.  We probably didn’t realize what a shock it would be when all of us suddenly materialized out of what seemed like thin air.  We were just so anxious to share the blessing which had come into the world as the Son of the Father became a man.

            It still amazes me to think about that.  The awesome God who created us and all of the rest of the universe as well.  The One who always was and always would be.  The Eternal God who had no beginning and no end, the Alpha and Omega, as we often call Him.  The Being who formed man was now living in the form of man.  God the Father had spent many years explaining His plan to us and we knew it would take many years to explain it to the human race as well.  But that was why we came.  To start that process of helping you understand this miracle of miracles.

            God became a man.

 God is now a baby. 

Can you fathom that?  I know, it’s an awesome thought, an awe-inspiring concept.  But take it from me—a cherub.  One who has chosen to honor His becoming a child by remaining a child forever.  In perpetuity.  Perpetuity.