Today's Favorite Verse: Romans 12:19-20

Today's Favorite Verse: Romans 12:19-20

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

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."

I wondered what "give place unto wrath" and "heap coals of fire on his head" meant. God will avenge or teach a lesson to those that are our enemies. I imagine you just have to give God space to do what he feels is best, and place it in His hands. Allow God to do what He will and stay out of the way.

Yet, we are called to care for our enemies. Wanting to heaping coals of fire on his head doesn't sound very peaceful, rather revengeful. I sat for the longest time pondering on what that meant. How would my head feel to have heaps of hot coals on top of it. Very hot, very uncomfortable. Then I thought of shame and embarrassment. How red I would turn and feel like my whole face was on fire. The shame and embarrassment that comes by someone being kind when you were terrible to them would be a great teaching moment. Then I realized this is a great thing to give them. Let them be ashamed of their actions and be embarrassed. That awakens them to guilt and the opportunity to repent and mend their ways. That can turn an enemy into an understanding friend.

Day 3217