Connections

July 2 – Give Me Some of Those Burning Coals!

I must admit that Proverbs 25:21, 22 has always puzzled me. Let’s look at it closely. “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” I understand what verse 21 is saying, because the New Testament also teaches us to pray for and be good to our enemies. We may not like it, and it may be extremely difficult to do at times, but this is what the Lord expects us to do. Romans 12:17-21 reminds us of this same passage of Scripture. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” (v. 17). So what about these burning coals?

Burning coals on someone’s head sounds painful. Surely God will not reward us for harming someone. Doesn’t God’s Word teach us that vengeance belongs to Him alone? To understand the meaning of this passage, we must go back to the time and culture in which these Scriptures were written. When a person’s fire went out at home, he or she would go to a neighbor and get some live coals to rekindle the fire. They were usually carried in a pan on the head. God asks us to show kindness and meet the needs of everyone, even our enemies. And don’t wait to be asked; offer first. Intense heat is also used to soften and melt metal. Kindness can soften and melt the hardest of hearts. So we heap coals on our enemy’s head, not to hurt him, but to help him. God approves and will bless us whether our enemy repents or not. We are not responsible for the results; we just obey the Lord. God takes care of the rest. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21.

Heavenly Father, give me the strength to obey You.

September 30 – The Seen and Unseen

I love the true story of the paralytic and his four best friends who go to a lot of trouble to get their sick friend in front of Jesus. Not easily discouraged by the thick crowd, they get very creative in what to do to achieve their goal. The homeowner may not think so, but what they do works! “…When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” Matthew 9:2. At that moment, the man becomes aware of a cleansing inside his heart and a joy filling his soul. Jesus takes care of the most important business first – forgiveness. All five have faith that the man will be healed; but notice, Jesus speaks only to the paralytic that his sins are forgiven. Jesus sees an additional faith in the sick man – faith for salvation.

“‘But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’” Matthew 9:6. The visible miracle of getting up and walking is the miracle that is seen; the larger miracle of forgiveness and salvation is unseen and undetected by all except the man to whom it happens. The visible miracle is temporary; the internal miracle is eternal. This in no way minimizes the miracle of healing. Our Savior suffers greatly to provide healing for us by subjecting Himself to the torturer’s whip, for it is by his wounds we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). Nevertheless, the greater miracle is that of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, when our spirit is born again, cleansed and forgiven, and our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The former paralytic is healed inside and out! “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,” Psalm 103:2, 3.