Meditation for Monday
Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Romans 12:20
Did you ever step on a live coal? I remember a silly story I read years ago about an old hillbilly watching his wife cooking dinner. He spoke up, ‘Ma, you’re standin’ on a live coal!’ ‘Do tell, Pa,’ she replied. ‘Which foot?’ Now, that’s a tough pair of feet, tougher than you or I could tolerate, for sure. And if our feet couldn’t tolerate a live coal, how much more unbearable would be a live coal on our head? It seems like a horrible type of torture. And yet, you and I have the ability to inflict such torture on our enemies. It’s easy to do, too, because all we have to do is be nice to them, be generous and kind. How does that possibly work?
If we were to read the verse previous to our text today, we would see that vengeance is not something the Christian should ever mess with. God promises to take care of the vengeance Himself. And our text tells us how it works. But how does being nice to our enemies bring about God’s vengeance? Let’s consider how God works when it comes to dealing with enemies. You and I were also enemies of His at one time. And yet, God dealt with us in love, and brought us into a new relationship. We are now family, not enemies. In the same way, we are to respond to our enemies in love. If our loving response to their enmity results in their being drawn to our Saviour, we have lost an enemy and gained a brother/sister. If our loving response fails to bring about a change in our enemy’s status, the entire issue is in God’s hands, not ours. Not that we should rejoice in it, but there is surely punishment for rejecting the love of God and the love of one of God’s children. We don’t want that to happen to anybody. So we need to show as much of the love of God as we can, to even the worst of enemies.
God’s approach to vengeance is not like ours is by nature. By kindness and sweet treatment, He converted us from enemies to friends. Now, let us show that we are His children by extending kindness and sweet treatment to others. -Jim MacIntosh