Imagine if angelic beings went to school to learn to become guardian angels. They would probably have a lot of questions about the strange things that humans do on earth. They would need to study humans closely and learn the best ways to lead them into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
Chapter 5
The Cookie
On the winds of the Time Tornado, Chaz found Sim staring blankly back towards the Garden of Eden.
“You okay?” he asked her.
“How–how could they? How could they disobey God like that?” she said.
Chaz didn’t have an answer. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was angry. If this was the way humans acted, then he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be be one of their guardians.
Suddenly the tornado came to a halt and the angels landed in the front yard of a small house with a white picket fence. An angel they hadn’t seen before was standing on the steps to the front of the door to the house.
“Hello Barachiel! Hello students!” she said.
“Great to see you Guardian Natiel,” Barachiel said. “Class, this is a professional guardian angel. She is watching over a young girl who lives in this home. We are going to observe her for a short time this morning.”
“Come in,” said the guardian and she turned and walked right through the door as if it wasn’t there. The class of angels, in turn, walked effortlessly through the door as well. They followed Guardian Natiel into the kitchen where a young girl sat on a stool next to her mother baking cookies.
“Can I have one, Mommy?” said the girl.
“You may have one cookie, dear,” said her mother. “But only one and no more. Got it?”
“Yes, mom,” said the girl and she happily received and ate her one cookie.
The mother lifted the little girl off the stool and onto the floor. “I’ve got to go fold some laundry. You play while I head downstairs. Sound good?”
“Okay,” said the girl.
“And remember,” she said. “No more cookies.”
The mom turned and walked into he basement of the house. The girl looked up at the pile of freshly-baked, warm cookies on the counter. She inhaled a deep breath through her nose to smell them.
“Oh no, not again!” said Sim almost in tears already.
Chaz turned to Guardian Natiel. “Aren’t you going to do something to stop her?”
Natiel smiled. She calmly flew over to the girl and whispered something into her ear.
“What did you say?” asked one of the students.
“I reminded her of her mother’s words,” said the guardian angel.
“Will she listen to you?” asked Sim.
“Sometimes she listens and sometimes she doesn’t,” said the guardian. “We will have to wait and see what happens next.”
The girl picked up a toy from the floor of the kitchen. She looked at the toy then looked up at the cookies again.
“Oh I can’t watch!” said Sim covering her eyes again.
The little girl tucked the toy under her arm, then reached up to grab another cookie.
A murmur broke out among the angels, some with shouts of “No” and “Don’t do it.”
The girl shoved the cookie in her mouth and wiped her hand on her shirt. Then she toddled into another room to play.
“I think that will be enough for now,” said Barachiel. “Students, please follow me back to the Academy.”
“But–but–” Sim stuttered.
“May the Lord be with you, Guardian Natiel. Thank you for welcoming us today. We will be back again soon, okay?” Barachiel led the class back through the front door.
Chaz looked back at the guardian, who was following the little girl into the other room. The angel didn’t seem phased by what the little girl did. He couldn’t believe it. Why wasn’t he angry with her for ignoring her mother and her guardian angel?
He continued toward the door and tripped over Sim. “C’mon, Sim, it’s time to go.”
“Sim looked up at Chaz. I don’t think I can do this,” she said in tears.
Chaz clenched his teeth. “Yeah, me neither.”
The tornado was already starting to form outside. Chaz grabbed Sim’s hand and started to fly with her to join the class. “Let’s go or we will miss the tornado.”
Chapter 6
The Lunch
Before they knew it, Chaz and Sim were back in the class. Everyone was silent. They had seen two instances of disobedient humans and they were all in shock.
Barachiel spoke first. “I know this is a lot to take in. If you haven’t already guessed, today’s lesson is about temptation. Humans are confronted with almost endless amounts of temptation in their lives and one of your responsibilities will be to help them identify and overcome those temptations.”
Barachiel walked towards the door of the classroom. “If you follow me; it is time for lunch.”
The angels looked at one another in confusion.
“Sir,” said an angel near the front of the room. “What is lunch?”
“Lunch is a meal that the humans have in the middle of the day,” said the teacher.
“But we don’t eat food,” replied the angel.
“Very true,” said Barachiel. “But if you follow me to the cafeteria, we will go to learn about the many temptations humans experience when it comes to food. Now, let’s fly, shall we?”
The class followed the archangel out of the classroom and through the many hallways to the cafeteria. The room was lined with long tables and chairs along the side just like a school cafeteria on earth. On the tables were many trays filled with foods.
“If you could all take a seat, please,” said Barachiel motioning to the tables.
Chaz took a seat next to Sim again. She already had a pen and paper out on the table. She was drawing pictures of the foods on their trays.
“There are four groups of food on the tray in front of you,” said Barachiel. “The green foods are vegetables and the colorful ones are fruits. There is another section for bread, rice, and other grains, then there is a fourth section for meats.”
“Sir, what are these two liquids next to our trays,” asked Sim as she feverishly copied everything their teacher had just said.
“The clear liquid is water. The humans need this to survive. The other is a glass of milk,” said the teacher.
Chaz picked up a piece of broccoli and examined it closely. “Sir, are these foods temptations to the humans?”
“That, Chaz, is a piece of broccoli,” said Barachiel. “And, no, that particular food has never in the history of mankind been a temptation for the humans.”
“So why do they eat it?” asked another angel.
“Because it is healthy for them and because the human mothers told them to eat it as children,” said Barachiel. “In fact, all the foods sitting before you can be good for the humans as long as they are consumed in moderation.”
“What does moderation mean?” asked an angel.
“It means only eating what is necessary,” said the teacher. “You see, when it comes to food and drink, humans can sometimes be tempted to eat more than they should.”
Barachiel looked back towards the far wall of the room where there was a window with a counter full of some additional foods. He waved his hand to invite a dozen angels to carry new trays of food out to the tables.
“These angels are bringing forth the most tempting type of food known to man,” said Barachiel. “This, my young angels, is what the humans call dessert. They find it irresistible.”
The students could see trays full of cakes, ice cream, pies, candies of all kinds, and cookies.
“That’s a cookie!” said Sim.
“That’s right. You have already seen what these foods can do to children even at a young age. The temptation can be very great.”
The angels started to pick up the desserts. One angel grabbed a handful of cake then tried to wipe off the frosting on his robes. Another gasped when her handful of ice cream started to drip on the floor.
Sim picked up a piece of candy. “What’s this?” she asked.
“That is a lollipop,” said Barachiel.
“And humans are tempted by these things?” said Chaz breaking off a piece of a chocolate bar.
“The humans enjoy eating sugar, but it is not good for their bodies. A little bit won’t hurt them, but eating too much is very bad,” said Barachiel.
“So why do the humans find it so tempting?” asked Sim. “Why don’t they just not eat it at all?”
“Because it tastes good,” said Barachiel.
“It tastes good, but it isn’t good for them?” asked Chaz.
“Correct,” said the teacher.
“And they eat this even though they know it isn’t good for them?” asked another angel.
“Yes,” said the teacher.
Chaz thought back to the words of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. ‘God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.’
“Satan was right,” he said to himself.
“What was that?” asked the teacher.
“Nothing sir,” said Chaz.
“Please, share what you were thinking,” said Barachiel.
“It’s just that, Satan was right. In the Garden of Eden, he told Eve that she would know what is good and evil,” said Chaz.
“And?” said the teacher.
“And he was right. The humans do know what is good or evil for them,” said Chaz. “I mean, these desserts. The humans know they are evil, but they eat them anyway.”
“What are you saying young angel?” asked the teacher.
“What I’m saying is, the humans should know better. What can we possibly do to stop them from choosing evil?”
Gasps broke out among the students. Sim stared at Chaz in shock.
Chaz stood up. “I don’t think I can do this, sir. It’s impossible to stop them.”
Barachiel looked sternly at the angel. “It is very early to quit,” he said. “There is still much more to learn, but these humans only deserve the best of the best when it comes to their guardians. ”
“Why do they deserve the best?” asked Chaz. “Why do they deserve our help when they just disobey with every chance they get?”
“You still have a lot to learn,” said the teacher. “But you may choose to leave at any time. Everyone else, please follow me back to our classroom.”
The angels quickly set down the deserts and followed their teacher. Sim’s eyes were already filled with tears as she looked back at Chaz.
“Chaz, if you wish to unenroll then please report to the office to submit your request for removal from the academy,” said Barachiel. “I’m sorry to see you go.”
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