United Church of God

Letter From Dan Preston - August 17, 2018

Letter From Dan Preston

August 17, 2018

Good evening brethren and Happy Sabbath!

It's a small world

As we were rolling down the interstate a few weeks ago, a group of very excited people pulled up next to us, waved and held up a sign that read, "Beyond Today! We are with UCG too!"  Apparently, they had seen the Beyond Today sticker on the back of our van and made the connection. We waved back, and after a few excited moments, each vehicle continued on its way.

You never know who you'll run into

With the constant contact we get from social media and cell phones, it's nice to run into someone the old fashioned way now and again, isn't it?  And you surely never know who it is you'll run into. I couldn't help but think of Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV), "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."  As it turned, one in the group riding with us recognized the family from a summer camp over the years, so it doesn't seem we were entertaining any angels, but it was exciting nonetheless.

We know both Abraham and Lot entertained angels (Genesis 18 and 19).  But we recognize that is not the only application of this scripture. You've no doubt heard stories from brethren over the years who encountered random strangers that were never heard from or seen again.  Sometimes they were helped out by these strangers, sometimes they helped them. In either case, it seems that even in modern times, some have had the opportunity to entertain angels unwittingly.

Sharing the love of God

These scriptures are given to us as a reminder:  We truly never know who we will run into. As His children, God has certain expectations of how it is we are to live and treat others.  While some might view an unknown encounter with an angel as a 'test' to see if we are being good, perhaps a better way to think about it is as a chance for us to let the love of God shine.  God IS love (1 John 4:8,16). And if we are to representatives of His love and of Jesus Christ, what better way to share that than kindness to a stranger?