Angels Unawares
18: 1-15
Do not forget to show hospitality, for by this some have entertained angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2 NASB/KJV). We are not to be hospitable because on some occasion we might find ourselves ministering to angels. This should not be our motivation for our hospitality. We are to minister out of love, for the sake of those we help and for God’s glory. The point here is that we can never know how important and far reaching a simple act of kindness may be. We minister out of need, not because of any consequences we are able to foresee. Abraham went out of his way to help three men who were passing by his tent. He did not wait to be asked for help but volunteered. It was an opportunity more than a duty. In fact, he considered the greater service to himself, saying: If I have found favor in your eyes, my masters, do not pass your servant by (18:3). At the time he had no idea that two of the men were angels and that the third was the Lord Himself. And if he had known they were, it would have been no less right for him to be hospitable.
In a sense, we always minister to the Lord when we are hospitable, especially to fellow believers. I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me (Matthew 25:40). To feed the hungry, take in the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned in Jesus’ name is to serve Him. To turn our backs on those in need of such things is to turn our backs on Him. I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me (Matthew 25:45).297
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