Listen

He said, “Sirs, if you would be so kind, don’t just pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought so you may wash your feet and refresh yourselves under the tree. Let me offer you a little bread so you will feel stronger, and after that you may leave your servant and go on your way—since you have visited your servant.”

They responded, “Fine. Do just as you have said.”

Genesis 18:3-5

Think

The scholarship interviewer asked me, “If you could visit with any historic person, who would you pick and why?” I still remember stressfully trying to craft a perfectly thoughtful answer so I could pass the interview and earn the help of the scholarship!

Let’s let our collective hypothetical answer today be God. What would you do with your visit with God? How would you greet God? What would you talk about? Would you demand answers for your most frustrating questions or would you play a pickup game of Ultimate Frisbee?

Abraham greets his visit from the Lord with wondrous hospitality for those three strangers. He offers refreshing water amidst the heat. He offers them a chance to clean off the dirt from their daily travels. He offers bread for nourishment. He offers himself.

God offers us the waters of baptism, the cleansing of sin, the bread of communion, and God’s very self. Lucky for us, though, we don’t have to craft some perfect answer to an interview question to somehow earn that grace!

Molly Logan

Pray

Gracious and loving God, what is it that you want from me? How could I serve you best today? Visit me with your grace and forgiveness so that I might welcome others to that love too. Amen.

Go

Lord, you have examined me. You know me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans. You study my traveling and resting. You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways. There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord, that you don’t already know completely. You surround me—front and back. You put your hand on me.

Psalm 139:1-5

God knows you and loves you.

Receive and live in the reality of that gracious encounter and embrace today.