“And angels are coming to visit the earth.” (William W. Phelps, “The Spirit Of God”). If we want a good pattern for our interactions with the world then we need look no farther than the angels. The angels visit the Earth. Presumably they have the option of dwelling on perpetual peace and harmony with the Celestial Choirs but they leave that state of bliss to come and visit us with all of our chaos and confusion. They say that fools rush in where angels fear to tread, but I'm not sure that's quite right. It is not the rushing in but the overstaying that fools need to be wary of. The world has a gravity to it. It can be very difficult, if one is not careful, to get caught up in all of the distractions and excitements that the world has to offer. Angels do not fear to tread upon the Earth, but they remember that they are visitors only. Keeping their eyes fixed on God allows them to leave their tranquil halls and visit the world with the intent to uplift and bless and give hope to all of those who are not merely visitors but naturalized citizens of the world. Many of us would like to renounce the world and all of the troubles that lurk upon it and never set foot upon it again. But just as we often visit those who are sick or lonely not for our own benefit but for those whom we are visiting, we can follow the angels and visit those who are ensnared by the machinations of the devil and his legions, again, not for our own benefit but for theirs. These are not always pleasant or deeply meaningful interactions but, like the angels, we make the world a little brighter and a little more bearable for those that we visit.
