“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

–Hebrews 13:2 (NIV)

How about a feel-good, true story to kick off 2025?

On Christmas day, I was visiting at a house where there was no coffee. Having run out, I decided to make a caffeine run. With options limited on the holiday, I landed at a 7-Eleven (Yeah, I know, but I’m addicted!). As I drove up, I spotted a thin, raggedly-dressed woman standing in front of the store.

When I got out of the car, the woman approached a man and asked for money for food. He told her he wouldn’t give her any money; then, he paused and said, “But if you’ll go into the store with me, I’ll buy you something to eat.”

The woman hesitated, shook her head, and said, “I’m not allowed in the store.” And there, for me, began judgment (I know, I/we shouldn’t be judgmental, but aren’t we all, at least sometimes?): Had she stolen from the store? Had she created a scene in the past? Did the merchant simply not want her in the store, because she looked like a vagrant?

“Tell me what you want,” he said. “I’ll go in and get it for you.” And he did. He came out with hot chocolate with french vanilla cream and a chocolate eclair. And there the judgment continued: Had he been duped? Did she really need free food? Did he encourage her to keep begging?

I can’t answer those questions. But I know this: the image that persists in my head is of that woman outside the store enjoying the gift of a free breakfast on a cold, Christmas morning–something none of us had to experience that day.

I’m reminded of an old Collin Raye song, “What if Jesus Comes Back Like That?” If you don’t know it, Google the lyrics or listen to it on You Tube. It’s powerful. Collin’s point is this: When we see people down and out, do we see hobos and drug addicts or, possibly, do we see the face of Jesus? Or, from the cited scripture, when quietly we do something kind for someone, could we be entertaining an angel unaware?

Who are we to judge? Maybe not now, but at some point in our lives, were we a missed paycheck away from being out on the streets? I bet some of us were. Think about that the next time you pull up to an intersection, or even a 7-Eleven, and see someone asking for help.

In his compendium of sermons titled, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis said this: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations–these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit–immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” And I would add, even those considered the least of these are immortal souls as well.

In this season of resolutions, might I suggest we all resolve to display random acts of kindness? Without worrying about how it makes us look or what the person does with the loose change or dollar bills we offer them? Can we just worry about what we do, and leave what the person does with that gift between them and God?

After all, how do we know Jesus won’t come back like that?