SHOW HOSPITALITY. Hebrews 13:2 Hospitality can be an imposition that some are not willing to accept. A stranger’s garments may cover an unlikely person. Abraham, Lot, Gideon, and Manoah all entertained angels. Kindness shown to others is never wasted. Love for the unconverted may win their confidence. The character of the Lord and the message of the Gospel are often judged by the one bringing the message. Jews were not to treat strangers harshly because they had once been strangers.
Love toward the Lord’s people is often the first indication of divine life: “We know we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.” Love is the fruit of divine life as well as the aim and result of divine grace shown toward us. In verse 2, a better expression for “entertain” is “show love to strangers.” This is possible because the Holy Spirit within us gives us the emotions toward others that God has toward us. The love of Christ in His people is extended toward “strangers” with dignity and grace.
Such an attitude is not duty, pretense, or expected formality, but rather allowing God’s love in Christ to flow through believers to others without seeking any reward or recompense. It is reward enough to be able to show the love of Christ with grateful hearts that “constrain us” to love others for Christ’s sake. When we learn to value and love the Lord’s people and strangers, we learn the value of Christ’s love for us. “We love Him because He first loved us” is a good pattern to follow in loving others and showing hospitality as evidence of that love.
Like faith, love proves itself in deeds. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “I was a stranger, and you took Me in.” That is one way and reason the blessedness and sacredness of hospitality is taught. This kind of love does not merely hand over some money and tell someone to go to McDonald’s for lunch after the assembly meetings. Instead, it opens hearts and homes to those who may be messengers sent by God to test our love and faithfulness to Him.
Our aim should be to show the love of the Lord to us by showing His love to them through us. For strangers, we show benevolence and pity; for brethren, kinship and appreciation. Hospitality is about making others feel comfortable and at home with you. People to whom we can show hospitality include visitors to your assembly, lonely singles, and visiting missionaries in need. When we live in the Holiest, with our Great High Priest, we live in love and in the place of love. When we receive those whom the Lord sends to us, we receive Him.
You wouldn't have known, just walking by, that an angel was standing there. Some children were having great fun, without a worry or care. The guardian from God may not have been seen, but we are given assurance. The angel is keeping a vigilant watch, lest there be some terrible occurrence. He showed up where the Lord's people were gathered, just looking like an ordinary man. However, he was sent with a task to lift the fallen hands of some believers. It wasn't just the things that he said, but there was something special about how he said it that made us understand our blessings in life, we didn't earn - God gets all the credit.