Hospitality as a Sign
Abraham’s wife Sarah had been buried. Abraham was older than
dirt. (I mean well advanced in years.) Isaac was becoming an adult. He needed a
good wife.
In those days, dating, living together for a while, having a
child and then perhaps getting married didn’t happen. Isaac’s father Abraham
enlisted his chief servant to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham had him make a
solemn promise though, that he would not get Isaac a wife from the Canaanites
they were living among, but from Abraham’s own country. He wanted to be sure
that Isaac’s future wife came from the same spiritual foundation as his family.
Abraham was aware of the importance of both the husband and wife having a heart for the Lord in order to
work together to build a marriage relationship on the solid ground of God and
the teachings of the Bible.
Have you ever prayed to God with words something like this;
Father, please help me to know your will. I pray for your guidance and direction.
Lord please clearly reveal to me my path that I may without a doubt know the message
is from you.
That is in a way the prayer of the chief servant of Abraham.
Upon arriving to the town of Nahor, the servant prayed; “Oh Lord, God of my
master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are
coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, “Please let down
your jar that I may have a drink, and she says, “Drink and I’ll water your
camels too” – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By
this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
Hospitality accompanied by sincerity is very welcoming. That
is exactly what the girl offered the servant. She was the type of person
Abraham asked the servant to bring to
him. In this case, the warm and welcoming spirit she exuded made the choice
clear. She was just what the servant was looking for!
As Christ followers and lovers of the Word, we too must hold
out our hands in welcoming hospitality to others. All others. The feelings or vibes we
give off, may make a difference in the life path of another. Our outreach may be just what they needed.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou
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