Hebrews 13:2

New International Version (NIV)

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

For Meditation

I arrived one day early. The students’ Hall that would house us at Moody Bible College for the Pastors conference would not open till the next day. I checked two nearby hotels for the night, but, the affordable one was full. Caught in a limbo and aimlessly walking around, I spotted a McDonald’s restaurant a little distance away. My stomach churned in agreement to my thoughts, so I walked over and sat over a Big Mac sandwich reading, “The Roots of Righteousness” by A. W. Tozer.

A street guy entered shortly after and sat close by me. He is not the type you would comfortably welcome at your dinner table, but he calmly sat and stared at me. A security officer asked him to leave after a short time. The poor man pleaded for some time, I guess, to warm up. May in windy Chicago is not particularly easy on anyone in the streets, so the officer understood. But I didn’t understand.

The man needed food, and I was capable. The thought flashed through my mind, but I quickly buried it. Yet, I was reading, “The Roots of Righteousness.” Who was I kidding?

The stranger’s time ran out, and the officer asked him to leave. I could sense his pain and reluctance to leave. The urge to buy him some food surged back in me, but I froze. I sat there motionless as the poor man picked himself up and walked towards the exit. He stopped at the door, as if to give himself the last opportunity for my offer; but I just looked on. He wiped his nose, straightened his jacket, and walked into the cold. I visually followed him till he got lost in the late afternoon crowd. A heavy load of guilt came upon me. I couldn’t believe I acted that callously. “Should I go after him?”

The irony of the situation is that I was equally “homeless” at the time, needing a place to stay. After hiding under the guise of having lunch for six hours and feeling warm, I stepped out through the same door the man had exited through, and into the same fate.

I dragged my carryon bag towards the affordable hotel for a last check on availability, but somehow, I drifted to the campus of Moody again. This time, I got access to the front desk of the Hall. As the kind gentleman at the desk frantically checked for a hotel for me, a student who felt my need offered to accommodate me for the night. What a relief!

The next morning, we sat at table in the cafeteria on campus and chattered over breakfast. The young man had summer classes, so we prayed together, and I thankfully bid him goodbye.

In one day, I had met two angels – a hungry homeless man who yearned for a hot meal from me, and a young student who readily extended hospitality to me. They were both obscured to me then, but now I am reminded of the two experiences. I was given the opportunity to show kindness to the first angel, but I failed woefully. Right after that, God sent another angel to teach me how to be kind to a stranger in need. Two angels, one message:

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews. 13:2).

Shalom