On a Personal Note – Strange Encounters…

Each week, I’ll share personal reflections from my own time with God, our Heavenly Father. On a Personal Note is where I’ll highlight takeaways and implications for walking with the Lord.

I think most parents have told their children, “Don’t talk to strangers.” I know mine did and I took it to heart. Just imagine a trip to the grocery store or shopping mall. Who do you see? There are grocery store staff or cashiers, but also other shoppers that you may not know. Yep, strangers. As I became an adult, I realized all the more that strangers were around, but not to be ignored, and it heightened my self-awareness for the good.

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitatlity to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

Hebrews 13:1-2

The author of Hebrews writes about a believer that encounters angels and is completely blind to their heavenly nature. Like in Genesis 18, we see Abraham offering hospitality to three men. In that encounter, Sarah ends up laughing at one of the men because he said that in a year’s time she would birth a baby. At this point, Sarah is 90 and Abraham is 100. We are reminded that nothing is impossible for God (v.14) and that our acts of hospitality may very well be towards angels.

Now imagine that any one of those grocery store strangers could have been an angel. The fact that we are often unaware of their presence makes me wonder. Was I impatient with the person that took too long in the check-out line? Did I act rudely towards the store staff? Did my actions display that I am a Christian? What does it make you wonder?

As we continue to reflect on the Advent season, we should always strive to be image-bearers of God and our actions should demonstrate we are followers of Christ. We should be doing good works because we never know when we may encounter an angel or believer with a God-given assignment. Let us continue to be sisterly and brotherly with every opportunity we get.

As we study the word of God, we should walk away with practical steps for our life. My takeaway is to live my life in a way that demonstrates my walk with Christ.

What about you? What’s your takeaway? How will you walk it out in your daily life?