top of page

ENTERTAINING STRANGERS

Writer's picture: Olufunmilayo AdekusibeOlufunmilayo Adekusibe
 

Today’s Reading:

Genesis 18:1-10 

“And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away. I pray thee from thy servant.” (v. 3)

 

 

Abraham sat in the tent door in the heat of the day when the Lord appeared unto him. He saw three men, he ran toward them and bowed himself toward the ground. We can see that God appeared to Abraham in a human form. On getting to verse 3, we see the personal pronoun Abraham used; My LORD, it is a sign of recognition and relationship. LORD there is Yahweh, the Almighty God. It presupposes that God had appeared to Abraham in that form before. Since that was not the first time God would appear to him definitely, he recognised Him. But the identity of the other two were not recorded. Some have suggested they were trinity, angels, God with two angels, Incarnate Jesus and several others.


But the issue we are concerned with here was how Abraham welcomed them. According to his godliness and customs of that culture, he offered the hospitality of his house to those travelers. Abraham urgently seems to go beyond the great sense of hospitality that was common in his time. He understood there was something special about these three visitors. Entertaining strangers is fast becoming a neglected aspect of Christian culture. It brings a whole lot of blessings when we entertain visitors. The writers of Hebrews also say that be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unaware (Hebrews 13:2). In verses 4 and 5, Abraham persuaded them to wait for refreshment. He said it in such a way that the meal will be ready in a moment just to persuade them and we see what he did in verses 6-8; fetch a calf tender and good, dressed it with butter and milk and stood by them under the tree. What a great lesson to learn from Abraham about entertaining visitors. In Matthew 25:31-46, it is a major criteria Jesus is looking out for. The righteous did it unknowingly, it was part of their daily life and it was recorded by heaven. Don’t wait until someone appears to be like God before you do well or do good to men of God alone, the bible says do good unto all especially those of the household of faith, Galatians 6:10. That visitation and the entertainment was significant in the life of Abraham. God cannot but to declare in verse 10 that he will certainly return unto the family by giving them a son. They used what they have to get what they want from God.


On the rank scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest, what would you score yourself as far as entertaining strangers as Christians. Are you always happy or sad when you see visitors? Do you close the door of your house to strangers or you welcome them? We know that we are in terrible times as far as welcoming strangers is concerned but how do you take care of visitors from church and family? Amend your ways if need be.

                                                                                    JAMES ALADE


 

To surrender your life to Christ, say this prayer aloud: “Father, I acknowledge my sin against you. I repent and ask for forgiveness in the name of Jesus. I surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, take control of my heart and lead me in Your path of righteousness. Thank you, Lord.”

If you said the prayer, Congratulations! Prayerfully look for a living church and report to the pastor or priest.


 

Prayer:

  1. I repent of any act of rejecting visitors or even angels unaware, in Jesus’ name.

  2. Every good thing that I have lost through welcoming people I should not have, Lord in your mercy restore them unto me, in Jesus’ name.

  3. I receive the grace to do all God wants me to do in the life of people, in Jesus’ name.

  4. I shall not miss any opportunity to do good to people that come my way on a daily basis in Jesus’ name.

13 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page