Heap Coals of Fire

“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” Proverbs 25:21-22

As believers, it can be challenging to respond with kindness toward an enemy. Our natural inclination may be to repay them in kind, as in an eye for an eye. However, we are counseled in Proverbs 25:21-22 to repay them with kindness by meeting their needs. If they are hungry, we are to feed them. Likewise, if they are thirsty we are to give them something to drink. When we do so we are heaping coals on their head.

What does it mean to heap coals of fire? It is to do something that produces tremendous pain and is troublesome to the individual the byproduct being shame. When we respond to an enemy with kindness, it will cause him or her to be ashamed of the way he or she has treated us. As we heap coals of fire, we are exposing them to light of Christ. In time we may even be able to lead them to Christ were they will be spiritually fed and their thirst continually quenched.

This week’s challenge is to heap coals of fire on an enemy in order to bring them into the light of Christ Jesus.

| OSC Week 16 |

[amazon_link asins=’B00EREHV70,B01LZNY8YV,1941281354′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’oss070-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1f87141b-e3e9-11e6-bdde-4d59facc59b9′]