Entertaining Angels Unaware...

WARNING...you may be challenged.  Read at your own risk.  After last week, this week has been a bit anti-climatic. How can you top meeting a President?  I've been trying to practice my surprise instrument, but finding the time to play has been hard.  I'm recalling how I nagged my son to play his French horn.  It's amazing how empathy comes in when you've been in his place.  This brings me to my topic for this week.  Should we give to others over the holidays?  There's a wide range of beliefs on whether you should give to the needy.  What if they use the money for drugs or alcohol?  Should you buy food instead of give money that way you know it's going to something good?  Should you assume the people who are asking for help are all conning you?  Let me take you back in time to my college days.  I lived in a duplex with a girl that attended church with me.  I thought my place was amazing.  Now, as I drive by the house with grown up eyes, I'm amazed that we didn't contract some kind of disease living there.  But that's beside the point.  We had just attended a sermon that was about loving as Christ loved us.  Both my roomy and I had decided that we would be more giving.  We prayed, "Help us to be willing to help others."  After only a couple of hours, we heard a knock on our door.  No big deal, right?  When we opened the door, we looked into the eyes of a woman with one brown eye and one very light blue eye.  She asked if we could spare some food.  Remember that just hours ago we had prayed that God would help us be cheerful givers.  Now, the opportunity had come.  We started pulling frozen pizzas, frozen dinners, and boxes of cereal (hey, keep in mind we are college students who don't cook) from our supplies.  As we joyfully thrust everything we could find at the woman, she held up a hand and stopped us.  She said, "All I need is this peanut butter and the loaf of bread."  We cheerfully gave her that and sent her on her way.  We lived in a very crowded neighborhood with many houses before ours.  How did she happen to choose our house after we had prayed that prayer?  In Hebrews 13:2, Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.  Am I saying  the lady was an angel?  No.  But I am saying that when we ask God to expand our hearts to be more like Him, He will give us opportunities to do just that.  Does that mean others may squander the good we give?  Absolutely, but sometimes the love you show through being willing to give does more help in the heart of the receiver than what you gave.  And isn't God all about healing hearts? So the answer isn't to give or not to give.  The answer is to respond when God places things on your heart with obedience.  This holiday, let's remember Christ's arrival to earth by showing God's love in our actions.  Have a great week high-heeled warriors!      

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