How well do you take care of your brothers and sisters? Are you caring for them with love? Are you being hospitable to people you don’t know? Are you caring for those who are being mistreated and suffering from injustice?
Many of us will care for our brothers and sisters. We care for our immediate family. We may care for some of our extended family, but there are usually some extended family members we don’t really like. Some family members are blood relatives, and some become relatives through marriage.
Most of us will care for those who are mistreated, as long as it is something we agree with. Yet, if our family or cultural environment doesn’t agree it is an injustice, we usually won’t go against the tide. We fail to look at it through the eyes of God, through Scripture.
Rarely will we include prisoners in our thoughts and prayers. Our standing assumption is they are in prison for a valid reason and don’t deserve our sympathy. Yet, God can work in prisons as well. He can change lives for the better.
The only time we may take care of a stranger is at a distance through various charity organizations. We wouldn’t dare to invite a stranger into our home. Yet, we see in today’s Scripture that some have entertained angels by doing so. Now, this doesn’t mean we should invite every stranger into our home. It is highly likely there will be a tugging at our heart when it is the right person to invite.
Now, here is the catch about brothers and sisters. It is not just physical family members we are to take care of. The brothers and sisters the writer of Hebrews is talking about are our Christian brothers and sisters. Much like our physical families, there are some we don’t really like. Yet we are told to pray for them and care for them all the same. This is the love of God showing itself through us.
Our love and care are to extend to everyone we know, and we encounter. We are to see all people through the eyes of Jesus, who cares for everyone. We like to put caveats on that love. We like to say, “But God, if you knew what this person did.” God does know and loves them anyway. He continues to pursue them, and He may just use us to do so.
I pray we all love everyone we encounter with the love of God. I pray we keep our Christian brothers and sisters in our prayers. I pray each of us will show more love and care each day, and perhaps entertain angels. Love one another. Pray for one another. Be hospitable to all. Pray for those in prison. Stand up for those suffering from injustice. Be thankful at all times.
Hebrews 13:1-3 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Marty Pressey 