Entertaining Angels
Luke 1:39-44
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” (NIV)
Benny ran an old fashion gas station in Ponca City, OK. While all the other stations were building convenient stores with self-serve gas pumps, Ben kept his old building with two pumps. Ben had the business.
Ben pumped the gas, visited with his customers, knew their children and pets by name. He’d always ask about them. If you forgot your wallet, he’d say, “Pay me later.” He never kept records of your unpaid purchases.
Ben was an Elder. When he retired he became our Parish Visitor. He visited each of our 51 shut-ins once a week. Ben would visit for five minutes, pray the Lord’s Prayer, then leave. In contrast I visited our shut-ins 4 times a year, stayed for an hour, and served communion.
When children would visit their shut-in parents, they always heard about Benny’s visits. “He’s always here visiting,” would be the report. Never a mention of my long, thought-filled, but less frequent visits.
Benny was their angel, always there, always visiting. When he visited eyes sparkled, cheeks glistened, and hearts leapt for joy.
I love email and voice mail – its fast, convenient, and unobtrusive. But I must be honest I love a personal hand-written note, even the two sentence ones, and an unplanned drop-in personal visit, far more. When I am blessed with these, my heart leaps for joy.
In Hebrews 13:1-2, we are instructed, “Keep on loving each other … do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” (NIV)
It’s Christmas. Trees and homes are decorated with angels. They are all so beautiful, but they do not move hearts.
Become a visiting angel and watch the hearts of the lonely (and yours) leap for joy.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I am rushing today and I am short on time. Help me to slow down, to fret less, and to become a visiting angel today. Help me learn that leaping hearts mean more than checking off items from my “To Do” List. Amen.
Bread Crumbs - Devotions for Life 