October 31 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Angels are more excellent than we are because they obey God perfectly. Jesus taught us to pray that we might do the will of God on earth as perfectly as the angels are doing it in heaven.

Angels are also less than we are. That's because we know God better than they will ever know him. They know the splendor of his throne. We know the meaning of his cross.

A child who has been ill for many years sees a kind of tenderness in his parents that may remain hidden from the healthy children in the family. Likewise, we have experienced the Father's heart in a way no angel can fathom.

The angels share in the Father's concern for his lost children. Although they cannot understand the price God paid or his pain in leading us to obedience, they are vitally interested in our doings. When we were created, they sang together. And when a sinner comes home, the angels sing with joy.

Since the Prince of heaven has been with us, our daily prayer is for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We don't know if the angels share in our prayers. We do know that they have an assignment in God's scheme of things. At God's command they serve to bring us to full and final salvation (Heb. 1:14). If we do God's will on earth, people are bound to oppose us, but the angels will serve us. That's how it was in the case of the Son, and that's how God deals with us.

Angels share in our obedience and our worship. Once the apostle John lost his sense of proportion and kneeled before an angel. Right away the angel said, "If you're going to kneel, I'll kneel next to you." The greatest thing on earth and in heaven is the service of worship. In worship, all who "keep the words of this scroll" kneel—as the equals of angels— before the throne of God.

REFLECTIONS

Praise God that one day you will be kneeling before him—with the angels!

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.