Two angels were
traveling about and stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.
The head of the family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the
mansion’s guest room. Instead they were given a small space in the cold damp
basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole
in the wall, where the foundation of the century’s old mansion was apparently
beginning to crumble, and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why he had
done it, the older angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.” The
next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very
hospitable, farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the
couple let the angels sleep in their bed, where they would be comfortable and
get a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels
found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been
their primary source of income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was
infuriated and asked the older angel, “How could you have allowed this to
happen? The man who had everything, yet was rude and selfish toward us, you
freely helped. But, the poor farmer and his wife were willing to share
everything with us and as a reward you let their cow die!” The older angel
respectfully replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem to be. When we
stayed in the basement of the mansion, the hole in the wall was where someone
had hidden some gold years ago and the hiding place was crumbling open. Since
the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I
sealed the wall up so he wouldn’t find it. Then, last night as we slept in the
farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife; I gave him the cow instead.
[Hebrews 13:2] “Do
not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained
angels without knowing it.” I find it very difficult to write in the shadows of
the recent tragedies of the last few weeks. “WHY?” is the biggest question on
the minds of people and the closer to the tragedy one is, the more reasonable
is our request to God for an answer. Why were four out of five family members,
minding their own business, die in a car crash at the hand of a drunk driver
going the wrong way on the interstate? Why the Boston Texas
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