Everyone who knew Vania said that his faith was contagious. Soon he was arrested and subjected to brutal torture. He wrote to his mother saying, “I know we will probably not see each other again, but don’t weep for me. An angel showed me the heavenly Jerusalem, and it is beautiful. Please do your best, dear Mother, to meet me there.”
He went on to assure her God was encouraging him by sending angels to his side. He described the various encounters he had with angels. “Angels are transparent. When you have one in front of you and a man stands behind, the presence of the angel does not block the view of the man. On the contrary, you see him better. When you see through an angel, you can understand and appreciate even a torturer.”
In the end, Vania was killed for his faith at age twenty-one. He was a young martyr whose courageous life enabled him to become a hero all over Eastern Europe.
Angels are everywhere. Their likeness is in books, shaped into candleholders, hung as Christmas ornaments, and formed into angel-shaped cookie cutters. Many people regret they have never seen real angels – God’s heavenly messengers. Yet everyday angels are often overlooked. An unlovely person in need of our acceptance just may be an angel. The enemy who hurts us may be the angelic being we are looking to see. Even if a person turns out to be an ordinary human after all, our love for that person will still bring us one step closer to heaven. Like Vania, are you looking at your life through a heavenly perspective? Are you looking for angels where you previously saw only an enemy? Look for potential angels to love today.
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