Roaming And Patrolling

One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them.  And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?"  Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it." 

This text is from the Book of Job (Chapter 1) – not from today’s reading but one that recently came to mind.  This is scary stuff!  Satan is among the angels!  Makes one think about the danger we all face each day with Satan on alert and looking for us – and Satan is in our midst, likely in disguise.

Many of us pooh-pooh Satan, or believe he is a fictional character.  Evil is not fiction; evil roams the earth; angels seem to be sleeping.   For the sake of Jesus Christ, wake up will you!?

It’s worth noting that there’s one Satan and many angels.   This symbolizes how powerful evil can be: one against many with the one seemingly having the upper hand most of the time.

The LORD says to all of us, “Whence do you come?”  How do we answer?   Do we respond, “We come in your name.  We come to fight the father of all lies – to do good and resist temptation.” 

We must always be careful for as St Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11(14), “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.” He also says, “It is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness.”

Yes, Satan is among us, and he is hidden in plain sight.   For those who have eyes, let us see.

Deacon David Pierce