SPECIAL GUEST

SERMON STORIES: LAUGH & LEARN
#33: SPECIAL GUEST

In a dream, a man was told, “Jesus will visit you this Saturday.” He was excited, and spent the week preparing for the visit. He bought a set of clothes, cleaned up his house, and made sure everything was ready for the special guest. 

Saturday morning came. He heard a knock on the door and hurried excitedly to open it. He saw the pesky beggar who had come asking for money the day before. “Go away,” the man told him, “I am expecting an important visitor today.” 

Around noon, he heard banging on the door. “It cannot be Jesus,” he thought. Sure enough, it was his troublesome neighbour whose son had taken ill and needed someone to take him to the doctor. “Go away,” the man said, “I am expecting an important visitor today.” 

As the day drew to a close, impatience set in. Finally, he heard a gentle knock. “This must be Jesus,” he thought. But no, it was a little girl trying to sell some cookies for her school’s fundraise. Tired and upset, he shooed her away. 

That night, in a dream, he complained to the Lord, “You said you would visit me today. I waited but you never came.” The Lord replied, “I came, three times, first as a beggar, second as your neighbour, and third as a little girl. But each time, you turned me away.”  

We go through a lot of trouble to welcome a VIP. But what if he comes in disguise? Abraham and Lot hosted visitors who later turned out to be angels. Hence, we are exhorted, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2 ESV

Jesus taught likewise that treating someone in need is ministering to Jesus himself. 

“Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’” Matthew 25:44-45 ESV