Okay, I know that doesn't really happen. The verse has always been there, it's probably been your favorite verse since you were a child, but really, I had never read this verse in my life!!!! I'm not sure how I missed it.
Isn't it funny how you can be so familiar with one section of the Bible that it becomes all you see and somehow you completely miss the amazing thing sitting right next to it. Or maybe that just happens to me?
I have read through the book of Hebrews countless times before it. It has some of my very favorite verses in it…
Hebrew 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (NIV)
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."
even Hebrews 13:5 "Keep you lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…"
So how did I miss Hebrews 13:2??? This verse was brand new to me as of a couple of weeks ago.
"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people
have entertained angels without knowing it." Heb 13:2
What a beautiful verse!!!
The city I live in has been virtually shut down by a snow storm just rolling in. The kids school was cancelled over 12 hours prior to any snow even arriving! And it reminded of something my parents did years ago.
I grew up in tiny little farm town in central Kansas. Really, TINY!!! I love it! But trust me, it's small! There are no restaurants, no hotels or motels, no place to stay for travelers who might get trapped along our stretch of interstate. It doesn't happen very often, but on occasion it does. One time, years ago, a snowstorm blew in, closing the interstate and trapping a couple of travelers in our little town. They ended up at the grocery store, the only place in town open, and that is where my dad happened to find them.
I'm not sure if I have ever told you about my dad and brother but someday I will, they would make a great post. For pretty much all the life I remember my dad was a firefighter, Fire Chief actually. My brother followed in his footsteps. I love, respect and admire these men, more than I have ever told them. They are truly Hero's to me.
So when these poor travelers were trapped in this little one horse town (literally). The local hero swooped into save the day. Much to my mothers surprise Dad came home from the store, not only with bread and mild but a couple of strangers as well! My parents welcomed these total strangers into their home, fed them, gave them a warm bed for the night, and in the morning when the roads had been cleared, sent them on their way.
I am not suggesting you go to the grocery store and pick up a couple of strangers to take home, but what would happen, if we really cared for, loved, the stranger. If when we met someone in the check out line, at the gas station, or who knows where, we welcomed them, cared for them, treated them with respect and admiration. Don't you think it would start to change things? Maybe not the world, but something?
Christ himself said, "…Whatever you did for the least of these brother of mine, you did for me." Treat others as if they were Christ himself and who knows you might even entertain an angel!
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