Showing hospitality to strangers

Wednesday February 29 2012

Hebrews 13:2 “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.”

This does not tell us to invite our best friends to our home for lunch or coffee and it does not say ask your husbands colleagues or boss over for dinner and we are not even asked to invite our family for a weekend! No! It actually tells us to show hospitality to strangers.  I admit, I am negligent in this area.  I love to entertain our friends and family but I rarely  invite new people to my home. I do take muffins to our neighbors, I wonder if that’s the same thing?

I remember when I was a little girl.  We lived in Northern Saskatchewan on a rather primitive homestead.  We rarely had strangers drop in because everyone was familiar with all the neighbors and it was a very tight knit community in a remote area.

One day, a tramp with ragged clothes and a handkerchief tied around a pole with a few cherished belongings knocked at our kitchen door.  My Mother asked him to come inside and rest while she cooked him some food, which he ate with relish! She also sent a substantial amount of food with him when he left. In those days at that place this was a long and laborious task for my Mother  but she did it with joy even though it required much effort and time.

This memory is still extremely vivid for me and a wonderful example of what it means to show hospitality to strangers.  As far as I can remember, only my Mother and myself were at home without any means of communication to the neighbors but she did not think about any dangers, her goal was to show hospitality to this stranger. I believe we were entertaining an angel that day without realizing it.

My prayer: Lord, Help me improve in this area and be able to show hospitality to strangers. Give me the wisdom and discernment to know when the right time is for me to obey this request. Bless me Lord as I strive to do your will. Amen.