Anonymous Angel 2.0 (Re-Uploaded)

The other day, I saw something that really bothered me: on a local group page, I noticed that someone was not being completely harsh to the plight of some impoverished people in the area. It was genuinely deeply troubling wondering just how this woman could be so cruel to people that she had no idea about whatsoever judging them as though she had the 411 of their whole life story. She and many others in the group berated and talked so lowly about people that they had just observed but had no actual no interaction with. Being an onlooker enraged me and made me think of just how nasty people could be.

How in the world could people not see that they are being so very inhumane and cruel to their fellow man? Admittedly, I went to her page and saw that she wasn’t a follower of Christ… ("The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” -Proverbs 29:7) okay, well, I can see why she’d act that way. But, oh wait! Even those of us that are walking with Him can lack compassion for those that are downtrodden and assume that we are above them because of the grace that God has shown to us or even forgetting where He brought us from!Isn’t it such a sign of the times that we live in an age where you can be labeled a Christian and not be a follower of Christ? Just think about how oxymoronic that is.

Every single one of us has room to grow in the area of compassion. On the whole, we have become so selfish as a nation and so pampered as a people that often times we want our way and it is an inconvenience for us to righteously compromise or lend a helping hand to someone else that might need it more than us out of self-preservation, lack of empathy, or egocentricity. 1 John 3:17, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

And when some do give, the heart posture isn’t right, it’s out of a selfish place. quick rant about how I hate those videos that people make where they go out and give money because it strokes their ego It makes people look and feel good. It does something for the ego. But what if we did it for Jesus? In Matthew 25:34-35, Jesus says: “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.” Prayer for the love of Jesus to be in our hearts is paramount to our Christian walk.

There’s a verse that stuck out to me even before walking with the Lord that comes from Hebrews 13:2. Years ago in downtown Charles town, someone painted a mural of three sets of multicolored angel wings with the verse that reads: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Not that this should necessarily be a driving force for us to have compassionate hearts, but have you ever considered that you may not know who you’re helping? I’m not talking about a whimsical lala land fairy tale either, I am talking about what the God of yesterday, today, and forever. What the God that supernaturally steps into the natural can do.

There are a handful of biblical instances where Hebrews 13:2 is applicable including Abraham in Genesis 18, Lot in Genesis 19, and Gideon in Judges 6 (even though Lot definitely expressed his….neighborliness a lot differently than the other two hospitable saints). Imagine the trajectory of these men’s lives if they had treated these men (angels unawares!) like they were pests to be done away with or even ignored them? To see the way they treated strangers is a great identifier of their heart posture. How many of us pass judgement on those that we see living in ways that we deem unfit rather than seeing them with the tenderness of God’s heart? How many of us make assumptions and scoff? When did we stop seeing people as someone’s daughter or someone’s son?

Psalm 145:8A: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” The Lord having stepped into our shoes as human beings, empathizes with us. There’s a difference between sympathy and empathy: sympathy is feeling bad for someone and more of a social grace. A “Sorry that happened, hope you feel better.” and move on sort of thing. Empathy is identifying and putting yourself in the shoes of others. It requires action, an inner tugging at the heart. In Luke 6:31 Jesus says: “And just as you want men to do to you, you do to them likewise.” How could we expect grace and goodness from others and God if we are not treating others with the same regard?

Growing in the Lord brings about a certain level of conviction when situations such as these arise. Often times, we forget just like the Israelites continuously what God has brought us out of. We forget the times that God kept us from losing our minds. When He delivered us from addiction. When He healed us from things that we thought were going to take us out. Remember to never forget. 1 Corinthians 15:10 A is a magnificent reminder to all believers: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain;” Any one of us if given the same set of circumstances could not make it out by our own strength. Some do and never turn to God, but it was Him that graced them with the help whether or not they want to acknowledge it. Romans 9:18 “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills and whom He wills He hardens.”

There are a great number of people that are chained to addictions of every kind. Some even in the church right now. We truly don’t always know what people are dealing with. But God does. Imagine for a moment a fish peacefully swimming in the water and it sees a tasty worm dangling in front of it. Of course, in the fish’s mind, worms are enjoyable and what convenience that it’s coming from a place that it’s so easy to get and it barely has to fight for its meal—what pleasure! But the fish doesn’t see the danger attached to the gratification and before it knows what happened, it’s hooked and fighting a losing battle to free itself from certain death. When we seek pleasure from this dying world, we reap mayhem. Romans 6:23 breaks it down simply saying: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Earthly pleasures that are rooted in satisfaction of the flesh outside of God’s will not only leads to eternal death, but death in this life as well. Sadly, it seems that we have entered into a new phase of a metaphorical zombie apocalypse, walking amongst the living dead. But thankfully we know a man that can raise the dead.

Needless to say, addiction is not the only way that people can come about hard times. This life is full of unfortunate circumstances that are no respecter of person. Some people have it and lose it all and they're in their right minds. Some have been in the system for as long as they can remember, coming from broken homes. Some lose their houses due to tragedy. Many have great spiritual oppression or possession driving them. And they're all people trying to make it through life the same as we are although we have our Help and often they don’t have a hope. As believers, we are meant to shine a light in this dark world (Matthew 5:14-16) “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Colossians 3:12) Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;.

How would you feel if at your lowest moment, feeling as though you’re teetering between life and death, people treated you as if you were a worthless piece of trash not even worthy to breathe the same air as them? If you had the mindset that everyone is bad, life isn’t worth living, and the world is a cruel dark place, wouldn’t that maltreatment just validate that frame of thinking? We are called to be set apart from the world and that means how we view and treat people. Romans 12:2 reminds us of our displacement from “mainstream society” reading: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Could you recognize a tree that was meant to be in bloom without its fruit? Perhaps, but what use would that tree be by producing nothing? What worth would it have? Remember when Jesus struck a fig tree dead out of its misery in Matthew 21:19 because it wasn’t producing? Thank God for His mercy. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” -Matthew 5:13. What use are we in this ever perishing world if we act just like it? What great movement has ever been brought about by complacency and lack of heart for others? By showing the love of Jesus to those that are not acquainted with love or goodness, it creates a way for them to view life differently. This can subsequently soften their hearts to the gospel and show them that life can be more beautiful than they had ever imagined in any circumstance.

I think of Paul saying in Philippians 4:12-13, “ I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” The joy of the Lord is not circumstantial and is a gift freely given by Him to all those that put their faith in Him.Can you pinpoint a low moment in your life? Some people are living that every single day without the hope of being freed.

In Psalm 27:13 King David writes, “I would have lost heart, unless I believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” The hope that only God can give can revive someone’s inner being and change their lives forever. And what a great responsibility we have as followers of Christ to steward that well and reach people with His love. True and lasting hope that will pick you up when you fall and wipe the tears from your eyes.

If you need more of God’s mercy, extend it to others and pray for His heart and yours to be made as one. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:9-11 that God is more than happy to give us good things: “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Remember that the lives that we live (although we all have challenges and are not immune to suffering) are just a product of God’s wonderful grace on us and we are blessed to be able to share that same hope with others. And who knows, in giving a helping hand or showing tenderheartedness to someone, you may not just be doing God’s will, but be entertaining an angel unaware!