Entertaining Angels

It's not every day I speak with a Dame on the telephone, so I was hesitant at first to believe her. But I quickly googled her and found out that yep, she is in fact a Dame and the first black woman to be given the title, presented with the honor due to the immense amount of charity work she's done on behalf of the aged in this country. Hm.

Considering this situation for a moment, I was reminded of a time last fall when a regular guest at our conference centre, a middle-aged African man, began speaking with me. He would wander into the bookshop as I was manning the till and while perusing the merchandise, begin asking me questions about myself. I answered them as vaguely as I possibly could. I mean, this man was a stranger. But he began to encourage me and remind me of the hope that God has for me. I found out after he left that he's the head of a large group of churches in West Africa. 'He's what??' I thought when I found out. I had no idea.

Today we have an award-winning, tv-appearing, book-publishing celebrity chef in the kitchen. He's a friend of the conference centre and has come specifically to help us improve the way our kitchen functions.

To me, these people seem special and there's a desire within me to treat them as such. Realizing that, I began to question why I should feel they are important. In His Kingdom, the Lord makes no distinction. Rich, poor, famous, obscure, they're all the same to Him. So why should I care? Why should this person be any more significant, treated with any more regard than another, than, say, one of the children of the large group we hosted last week who kept running past my desk despite the fact that I continually asked them to walk, who kept pestering me for more snooker cues, who repeatedly asked my friend manning the bookshop what they could buy with their 15p? The answer: they aren't and they shouldn't be.

'Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.' -Hebrews 13:2

So who are the angels? Are the angels the celebrities, those honored with earthly rewards, those who lead large groups of people? Maybe. But maybe they're the kid in front of the counter wanting more chocolate. How do I know? I don't. And because I don't know, how should I treat them? As if they all were angels.