A Desire To Know

To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

1 Peter 1:12

The most famous example of role reversal is probably Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper. Two young English boys, identical in appearance, one a prince and the other a pauper, become friends and decide to switch clothes and roles in order to see what the other’s life is like.

While that story is fictional, there is a literal case of role reversal with profound circumstances: when Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven and descended to earth to take on the form of a lowly man. This must have been a shocking thing for the angels of heaven to witness, since they had known Christ only in His glory. This must be only one of many things about God’s redemptive plan that Peter says “angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:12). Because angels are created beings like us, they share with us the same inquiry into the ways of God.

We can learn from the angels: if they desire to “look into” the depths of the mysteries of God, how much more should we who are the objects of His saving work?

With God there are mysteries, but no mistakes.

MICHAEL GRIFFITHS