LET LOVE for your fellow believers continue {and} be a fixed practice with you [never let it fail].Do not forget {or} neglect {or} refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood–being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:1-2).
God’s Word gives us an important admonition for us to show love to all men, especially our brothers and sisters in the faith, including the strangers amongst them. Some people don’t treat strangers right. Once they don’t know the fellow, they don’t care about him and don’t want to help. But the scripture says we shouldn’t be forgetful to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some have entertained angels unawares.
How could anyone entertain angels and not be aware? Of course, if you saw someone looking all white and glittering, with wings on his back, you’d immediately recognize he’s an angel. But the reason some have entertained angels unawares is because several times in scriptures, angels appeared like normal human beings dressed in regular clothes, looking like everyday people.
For example, the Bible says three men appeared unto Abraham in Genesis 18:2. One of them was God, while the other two were angels. When the two angels went into Sodom and Gomorrah, the men in these cities saw them as handsome men because they were just like anybody else. Also in the New Testament, you find appearances of angels in human form. This lets us know that even in our day, we also have those appearances.
Angels are powerful enough and have the authority to appear in a glorified form or to come in a concealed manner and appear like ordinary people. This is why you must give special care and attention to strangers. Don’t be hesitant to extend a helping hand to them and treat them as well as you would if you knew them.
This will boost your spiritual alertness to know the time of your visitation. The three men that appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18:2 were actually coming to see him but they needed his invitation into his home. Don’t miss the time of your visitation by being forgetful, negligent and unwelcoming to strangers. God may just have come to you through them. That man you left in the cold could be God’s messenger to you; he could be the one bearing that message you’ve been waiting to receive from the Lord.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for the important truth unveiled to my spirit today from your Word! Your love in my heart causes me to extend hospitality to strangers and fellow believers in Christ, being friendly, cordial, and gracious, towards them as unto Christ, in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Further Study
Matthew 25:34-35 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
(Taken by permission from Christ Embassy Church , aka Believer’s LoveWorld Ministries , Lagos, Nigeria. www.ChristEmbassy.org )
