If you were visited by an angel
It is that time of the year again when shops are draped with Christmas decoration, angels elegantly swinging from the ceilings, and for weeks the shopping centers are offering “angelic music” 24/7 free of charge. Not everybody loves that kind of marketing the Christmas story, but imagine: If an angel were actually visiting YOU in your home… wouldn’t that be amazing.
Imagine entertaining an angel for a meal, spending a full evening or perhaps even a weekend with God’s secret agent(s). Wouldn’t you feel immensely privileged, super valued and of exceptional importance to God? Perhaps you would be telling your friends and neighbours about it and make them real envious.
Well, if that were to happen to me I sure would like to get some prior notice, so I could be prepared for the special occasion: arrange things in our home in the most attractive way, do some major shopping and receive these unique messengers in style: The best of hospitality I could afford would have to be the minimum standard! And, who knows, maybe that man of God would allow me a one-time request for help towards some of my most urgent needs, or better still have some of my personal dreams fulfilled. Well, just thinking about it gets me all hyped up and excited right away …
But what if that angel, or even more than one, were to show up incognito, that is “having their true identity concealed”, what if they would knock at my door and I might turn them away because I did not recognize them as God’s messengers sent to my home. That would be awful, horrible, an absolute nightmare. How could I have missed such a once-in-a-lifetime chance! But perhaps this has happened to you and me already! Really? We read in God’s Word:
“Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” and it continues: “Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself.” Hebrews 13,2.3
Did any stranger step into your life lately? Do you have some brother or sister (in Christ) suffering for their faith in Jesus and you have not “remembered” him or her in one way or another? Or does God perhaps want to use YOU to be one of his ‘angels’ to someone near you at work or home, a stranger in need for one reason or another? I recall a situation years ago when we learned about the tragic loss of a father and husband who was killed during a town robbery, leaving behind a distraught mother with three small children between one and five years of age. As my wife, after observing the many cars that had been parked in front of that home day after day, friends and relatives who joined in mourning and grief, finally noticed that there was no car in view she decided to take the opportunity to go and visit that heart-broken neighbor for the first time ever. When she entered the place the young mother exclaimed: “Are you an angel or a real person? How could you know that this is the first day when I am all on my own since my husband has been shot!”
I am still married to that ‘angel’, so I am always the lucky one, but that lady still considers my wife to be God’s angel that visits her regularly. Perhaps God wants to use you this time of the year to either receive an angel or to become one of God’s messengers yourself to someone in need near to you.
Walter Eric, December 2019