"Do not pass your servant by." (Genesis 18:3 NIV)
We’ve made our way into Genesis 18 and Abraham’s eagerness to serve strangers catches my attention. Now I know that hospitality is a different beast in the ancient near-east, but Abraham went to great lengths to entertain a trio of perfect strangers. He bowed in deference, he flit about selecting fine meat and baked goods, he stood by while they ate the best that he had. Abraham approached that relationship with humility and wonder. His extreme efforts made me consider my own.
How do we approach strangers?
With inconvenience? Disregard? Even disdain?
Lord forgive us, we do not know what we do.
Abraham addressed unknown men under the assumption there was something with intrinsic value in them. How might this mindset alter our own encounters?
Maybe Abraham was convicted after Hagar’s desert incident. Maybe he realized how God can show up to anyone, anywhere. If a cast-aside slave girl caught holy attention, perhaps we should tend to those in our periphery, too.
At a hundred, Abraham seems to have become a man desperate for another encounter with God, despite the high cost of the last one. These mysterious men showed up and Abraham hurried from his tent entrance, eager to meet and entertain strangers, happy to give up his seat of honor.
What if we approached the people God puts in our path with the same level of enthusiasm?
What if we assumed God put them there on purpose; to reform something in us?
On this chilly December morning, I can’t help but think of an innkeeper who turned away a woman in travail. Who does that? People who are preoccupied. People who have lost sight of the value of others. People who don’t want to get involved, get their hands dirty or make a scene.
A couple of nights ago, my advent reading spoke about prizing the people. Apparently, good counselors prize their clientele. They believe the people that sit in front of them have inherent value and in listening, counselors seek to draw out stories and empathize with experience. Of course, these thoughts were in reference to Isaiah 9:6 and the Counselor nature of our dear Messiah. When Christ dwells in us, we must learn to listen and love well, also.
An Illustration from Honest Advent by Scott Erickson.
How readily we forget: God puts people in our path on purpose. He entrusts us with opportunities to see and serve and learn and stretch into a better reflection of His perfect image. Our lives are transformed by the people we encounter; who knows, we may very well be entertaining angels.
"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitably to angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2 NIV)
Lord, please forgive us for letting strangers pass by. Give us eyes to see today, ears to hear, hands to serve and an eagerness to know. We ant to faithfully represent You to the people You put I our path. We want to rightly treasure those You entrust to us. Amen.