I was leaving the Guangzhou train station with my ticket when I noticed a distraught Westerner bewildered by the long and jagged lines forming around her. I realized that she must be new to China because she apparently didn’t know that train stations often have ticket offices reserved especially for foreigners. I told her to follow me and I led her to a special room where she easily bought a ticket. Along the way, I learned that she was a Christian. She was so grateful for my help that she asked if I was an angel!
I laughed and said that I was only a human with a bit more experience in China, but she may have had a point. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” While this is true, as Gideon and Manoah discovered in Judges 6 and 13, it’s also true that the person who extends hospitality is himself a kind of angel.
The term angel means “messenger,” and it’s not a stretch to think that God sent me to the Guangzhou train station at that time to help His child who was in distress. Scripture repeatedly commands us to be on the lookout for others. Paul writes, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). Peter adds, “Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay” (1 Peter 4:9). And Jesus explained that when we feed and clothe the poor, we are feeding and clothing Him (Matthew 25:37-40).
In light of God’s emphasis on hospitality, I’m glad that I was mistaken for an angel. But I’m sad that it’s happened only once. —Mike Wittmer
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Kings 3:16-28
More:
Read 3 John 5-11 to discover the importance of hospitality in the early church. Also see 2 Kings 4:10 to catch a view of it in the Old Testament.
Next:
Martin Luther said that when we serve others we are the “mask of God.” How might this fill our hospitality with purpose? How have you been an “angel” to someone?
lindagma on April 14, 2011 at 8:00 am
My parents took a bus trip to visit my youngest brother and were “dumped out” at a roadside, 9:00pm, in a town 30 miles from my brother and a day early. Three teenage boys came along, took them to a pay phone, gave my brother directions and waited with my parents until he came. They were angels to me.
My oldest brother just passed last week. He was dealing with anger and guilt over his wife’s suicide. I prayed for God to send someone into his life to make sure he was headed for heaven since we were clear across country from each other. In the hospital, he had a neighbor who was with him till the end…a VA chaplain who spent a week bringing him to an understanding of God’s love…and a sweet Christian night nurse. God covered with round the clock angels and I am assured that he is with Jesus now. How sweet is our Lord and His constant presence in our time of need.
auvencetri on April 14, 2011 at 7:05 pm
First off all I want to thank all of you with love. This means a lot to me. I feel in the last 60 years I have met angels. I am not sure that I always did the right thing. Hopefully some went well. But bless you all for sharing your stories.
eppistle on April 14, 2011 at 8:31 am
One day back in the 90s, I was driving in an area of Houston where I usually didn’t go. I saw a young couple pulling suitcases down a sidewalk. A still small voice said, “Ask them if they want a ride.” I argued that I didn’t want to because the strangers wouldn’t trust me anyway, so I drove on by. Yet the conviction continued so I turned the car around and asked them if they wanted a ride. They gladly accepted my offer and then gave me directions to their cousins’ house. However the directions were wrong and so they were lost. These were the days before cell phones so they couldn’t call their cousins. So I asked them who their cousins were, and the cousins “just happened” to be in my church’s youth group. Since I knew where their cousins lived, I could take them to that house. The young couple were not Christians, so it made them think whether there was a God looking out for them. Through no wisdom or skill of mine own, God used me to be a messenger (or an angel) of His love. What an act of God’s grace to me and I would have missed out if had not surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Like Mike Wittmer, I’m sad that these things don’t happen more often. But I don’t think that it’s because of lack of divine appointments; I think it’s because of my lack of sensitivity or my lack of surrendering to those divine appointments.
mike wittmer on April 14, 2011 at 12:00 pm
These are great stories! I share your concern that they don’t happen more often, but this idea just came to me. Maybe it’s okay that we don’t see “special” cases like this very often, for we can still be God’s messengers to family and friends in normal, ordinary ways. Indeed, these may be more important than the special opportunities, for where would we be without everyday, garden-variety love and service to each other?
daisymarygoldr on April 14, 2011 at 2:24 pm
While all of us are called to be gracious hosts according to (Romans 12:13), the hospitality modeled by Abraham and Sarah is a special gift. I have experienced this in the life of my parents who gladly open their home to entertain guests and strangers regardless of whether we had enough room or bed space. My father is known for his penchant to surprise us with people whom we did not know personally and couldn’t relate to culturally. My mother who normally cooks for an army is a typical Martha—minus the bitterness. It is truly a God-given gift when we serve strangers without expecting anything in return.
Most of my life has been spent living as a stranger. There was never a place where I could fit in and identify with the local populace. And so, I know what it means to be received by those who are not under any obligation to accept me. I never cease to thank the good Lord and also continue to pray for people who invite me into their hearts and homes. In a foreign place there are times when we feel terribly lost, scared, home-sick, and helpless. At those moments—a kind gesture, word or deed by total strangers is so angelic and divine.
When we welcome people into our lives and accept them just the way they are—it blesses both the giver and the receiver. Most importantly, when we show generosity to the least of the brethren who may never be in a position to reciprocate in kind, we actually serve our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Thanks Mike and all for sharing your stories and pointing out the importance to practise hospitality!
winn collier on April 14, 2011 at 3:17 pm
I especially like your added idea of the ordinariness of this kind of angelic hospitality. I think I’ve encountered some of that, I hope I’ve offered it too.