Burning Coals

Burning Coals

by | Jan 14, 2018 | Difficult Scriptures

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Scripture in Focus:

“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” (Proverbs 25:21-22).


From a Christian perspective, the proverb’s admonition that we give food and water to our enemies so that “burning coals” will be heaped upon them may seem strange indeed.  Helping someone just to bring punishment on the person seems contradictory to most biblical teachings, yet this exact Old Testament proverb is also cited in the New Testament –  by the apostle Paul:

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head” (Romans 12:18-20).

But we do not need to understand this proverb literally in order to understand its message. If we look at it in its original setting in the Book of Proverbs, we find that it occurs in a group of sayings that all use physical imagery to describe emotional conditions.  Proverbs 25:20 – the proverb directly before the one we are looking at – tells us, for example: “ Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.”  Proverbs 25:23 –  the saying directly after the one we want to understand –  likewise tells us: “Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue — which provokes a horrified look.”  All of these proverbs are not to be understood literally, rather they are meant to supply a graphic image of what a given feeling is like.

In Proverbs 25:22 we are given an analogy showing what the emotional feeling will often be like for someone who is treated kindly despite their own behavior toward the person showing the kindness.  In a great many cases that feeling will be one of emotional discomfort – the flush of acute embarrassment –  that might well be symbolized by having “burning coals” tipped upon the person’s head.  There are other examples of the metaphorical use of “burning coals” in the Scriptures, as in 2 Samuel 14:7 which uses the image of a “burning coal” to  represent a person’s heir, but the meaning of the expression in Proverbs 25 is clearly that of a feeling of  emotional embarrassment and perhaps guilt. 

There is a wonderful example of this principle and its effect in the Book of 2 Kings (6:8-23) which tells the story of how the Prophet Elisha asked God to strike an Aramean army that was invading Israel with blindness.  When the enemy soldiers did become blind, rather than having them killed as many expected, Elisha led them to Israel’s capital city Samaria where he instructed the king of Israel to “Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master” (2 Kings 6:22). This is the exact application of the principle of giving food and drink to one’s enemies, in this case to those who had sought to harm the people of Israel.
 
Not surprisingly, when the sight of the enemy warriors was restored and they had been fed “a great feast” by those they originally intended to harm, we read that: “after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory” (2 Kings 6:23). The Aramean warriors who had been treated in this way felt great embarrassment at the kindness of those they had considered enemies and that feeling doubtless was responsible for their cessation of hostilities.

That is why the apostle Paul could cite Proverbs 25:21-22 as a practical example of not being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good (Romans 12:21).  The principle of embarrassment also underlies Paul’s words to the Thessalonian church:  “Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed” (2 Thessalonians 3:14).   Paul knew that it is better, where possible, to embarrass others with right behavior than to ignore or reciprocate their wrongdoing.  “Heaping burning coals” in the context that Paul uses the expression clearly means to cause temporary emotional discomfort that may lead to good.

The Ups and Downs of Life

The Ups and Downs of Life

by | Jan 7, 2018 | Positive Living

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“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven …” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Unless you live on a balmy tropical island where the temperatures stay fairly constant and there are few indications of seasonal change, your life is full of rhythms that you don’t think about much, but which are always there.  Day and night, hot and cold, spring and fall, summer and winter, daily high temperatures and daily lows. We take such rhythms for granted and don’t particularly stress if we find ourselves in a period of darkness, cold, or whatever – we know that the warmth or the light will return in time.

Although we may understand and live with this aspect of physical life, as Christians we don’t always apply that understanding spiritually – although it is equally true of our spiritual lives. In his classic work The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis noted that there are times when God seems particularly close to us and our spiritual lives seem to go easily: our faith seems strong, we want to do what is right – and temptations to do otherwise are relatively easy to overcome.  Yet there are other times when God may appear to be more distant, our faith seems less secure, and overcoming temptation is somehow harder.

Our spiritual lives, just like our physical lives, are a series of ups and downs, of “highs” and “lows” as well. But that is not the bad news we often presume it to be. In writing about this fluctuation in our spiritual experience, Lewis stated:  “Now it may surprise you to learn that [God] … relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.” Although Lewis used the terms “peaks” and “troughs” and we may perhaps say “highs” and “lows,” his point is clear –  and is one that is worth thinking about.

Lewis effectively argued that it is during our “troughs” or low periods, much more than during our “peaks” or high periods, that we are growing into the sort of creatures God wants us to be: “He wants [us] to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there, He is pleased even with [our] stumbles.” This is an important understanding of our spiritual lows –  that during those times our efforts may be especially appreciated by God. So Lewis also writes, “… the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best.”  When we demonstrate that we want to continue to walk with God even when we do not feel inspired or particularly blessed or helped, we also demonstrate the reality of our faith and commitment. 

That is a truly encouraging perspective if we can grasp it and make it ours. Although the spiritual aspect of our lives has its ups and downs and times of drought as well as times of abundance, God can and does use our spiritual low periods to increase our personal growth and service, if we let him.  In fact, some of the greatest advances in Christian missionary and aid work have occurred at extreme low points in the lives of those who have been instrumental in bringing them about. Sometimes we are just more receptive to the needs of others and to possibilities to serve that we do not tend to see when we are cheerful and buoyed up in good times.

Just like the daily or seasonal weather cycles with their “high” and “low” temperatures, we will always experience highs and lows in our spiritual lives.  But realizing that lows do not last forever and that while we are in them they may provide opportunities to grow that spiritual highs do not give us can make a big difference in how we live and what we accomplish.  Looked at this way, we can strive to persevere through problems and discouragements not only in order to survive and to make it to the end of the road to which we are called, but also to grow and to accomplish more than we could perhaps otherwise have done. 

*All C.S. Lewis quotes in this article are taken from chapter 8 of The Screwtape Letters, originally published in London during 1941 and 1942. 

Are New Year’s Resolutions Unbiblical?

Are New Year’s Resolutions Unbiblical?

by | Dec 31, 2017 | Overcoming


​Every year countless people make “New Year’s resolutions” – setting goals ranging from cleaning out closets to getting more exercise.  Many people make resolutions regarding character issues, too –  resolving to stop doing things they wish to stop, or to do better at things they want to do.

Many Christians also make resolutions, of course, and like other people they find varying degrees of success in reaching the goals for which they aim.  But some think that making resolutions is not a biblically sound idea for Christians as they feel God has already given us his “resolutions” in the form of biblical admonitions and commands and we should just concentrate on trying to follow them.  Others feel that making resolutions encourages us to focus on our own human ability to accomplish spiritual goals.
 
But the Bible shows a number of God’s servants making resolutions –  ranging from Daniel resolving not to partake of the food and wine of the Babylonian palace (Daniel 1:8) in the Old Testament, to Paul resolving to go through Macedonia and Greece to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21) in the New Testament.

In fact, making resolutions can be an extremely important aspect of biblical living. Consider an example of this in the Book of Malachi:  “If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me” (Malachi 2:2).

In cases like this the Bible shows we need to resolve to follow God’s will whenever we come to see it in a given circumstance.  Also, each and every time we make a mistake and repent of doing something we have come to see is wrong, we need to be making firm resolutions to overcome the problem in the future. This kind of resolution does not in any way lessen our understanding of our need for God’s help, and the same is true of many New Year’s resolutions that involve spiritual issues.

Now, it’s clear that the Bible does not mention resolutions in the context of a new year, but new beginnings are psychologically among the best times to make resolutions and are among the times when they are most likely to succeed.  The great Christian writer G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) doubtless understood this when he wrote: “Unless a … man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.” Chesterton’s point is a good one –  humanly we often need the impetus of some event to resolve to do better in our lives – and the New Year provides just such an occasion with a “new beginning” to work from.

The main problem with resolutions, of course, is that so many of them do not last long enough. Humanly we so often begin with great dedication only to “lose steam” as we go along.  But as Christians that is exactly where we can ask for God’s help to continue to apply and to keep our resolutions. In fact, that is exactly what we find in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian church: “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11 ESV).

Notice that Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that God would help them fulfill every “resolve” or resolution for good. It’s a prayer we can pray for ourselves as we go into this coming year – and one that we can pray for each other, too. 

What Shepherds Do

What Shepherds Do

by | Dec 17, 2017 | The Life of Jesus

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​“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters… Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,  I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff,  they comfort me…” (Psalm 23:1-4).

It’s hard for modern Christians not to think of Psalm 23 when the word “shepherd” comes to mind.  But that beautiful psalm reflects only some of the aspects of shepherding. Leading the sheep to pasture – providing for them – and through the valley of darkness – protecting them – are certainly vital aspects of the job, but as a shepherd himself David knew that there was more to the job than just feeding and protecting the sheep.

We find additional insights into the role of the shepherd in another of David’s psalms: “Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever” (Psalm 28:9). In the first half of this single verse we see the same aspects of protecting the sheep and providing for them, and in the second half David also mentions guiding the sheep (the Hebrew urom is a verb – to shepherd or guide, not to be a shepherd) and carrying them.

In this short but remarkable verse, David captures perhaps all the major aspects of the shepherd’s role in four verbs: To protect the sheep from death, to supply their needs, to guide them and finally to carry them when they are weak or injured and need the shepherd’s strength in addition to their own.   

This picture meshes well with Christ’s role as shepherd, which we see in the prophecy quoted by Matthew: “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah … out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel” (Matthew 2:6).  Jesus himself elaborated on the same four aspects of that role mentioned by David in Psalm 28.  As the prophesied shepherd,  Christ did all these things for his people:

Protected them from eternal death: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Provided their needs: “I am the gate for the sheep… whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (John 10:7-9).

Guided them: “When Jesus … saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (Mark 6:34).

Carried them: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he… go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (Luke 15:4-6).

The people of ancient Israel in David’s day, and those of Judea in Christ’s day, knew well that these things were all involved in being a shepherd. That’s why Christ used that analogy often, and why his hearers may have understood more fully  than we sometimes do what it means that the Lord is our shepherd. They knew, as we should come to know also, that the flock need never doubt that the Shepherd will always  protect, provide for, guide, and carry the sheep. It’s what shepherds do.

Christianity’s Beachheads

Christianity’s Beachheads

by | Dec 10, 2017 | The Church & the World, Warriors of the Way

PictureWorld War II Memorial on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France

​Militarily, a beachhead (so named because it is often a literal area of beach on a sea coast) is an area that an army secures as the initial foothold in enemy territory. 

​Once the beachhead is established and reinforcements arrive, the invading army can then begin to extend its position and radiate out into the territory it seeks to capture. But it is vital that the beachhead be firmly established and controlled for expansion to occur.

One of the most famous operations of this type in modern history was the Normandy beachhead established on the French coast by Allied troops in World War II –  allowing the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe and the eventual overthrow of that dark regime in the countries it had conquered.  That beachhead cost the lives of thousands of brave soldiers, but their sacrifice made possible the invasion that brought freedom to multiple millions. 

Earlier in history, at the beginning of our present era, we find something similar occurred in the establishment of Christianity in Jerusalem and its eventual expansion from there.  It’s an analogous situation that helps us to understand a number of scriptures in the New Testament.

Early in his ministry, when Jesus first sent out his disciples, we find that he commanded them: “… Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). Later, after his resurrection, his command changed: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).   Was this a contradiction, as is sometimes claimed? Why the change? The answer is simply because the spiritual “beachhead” of Jerusalem and Judah had to be first secured through the teaching of Jesus and his disciples. Then the preaching of the Kingdom of God could progressively radiate out from Jerusalem.  We see this expansion in Christ’s own words: “… you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). 

In the invasion of Normandy, the allied troops were not simply spread out across the whole French coastline where they would have had no effect; rather the invading forces established a specific beachhead on “Omaha” and its adjoining beaches.  The establishment of Christianity was no different.  Jesus himself said “… I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:24), and that is exactly where he concentrated his disciples’ efforts at first.

This fact explains two more scriptures that are sometimes thought to show contradicting accounts.  Early in his ministry, Jesus sent out his disciples, telling them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt” (Luke 9:3).  But later in his ministry Jesus specified “… the one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:36).   In the first instruction Jesus made sure the disciples would not have the necessary supplies to go beyond the borders of Judea, where he was sending them.  At the end of his ministry, once the “beachhead” was established, Jesus instructed them to take the things they would need for longer journeys into more distant territory.  In fact, the “bag” (NIV) they were told to take means a “backpack” or “travelling bag” and is so translated in many versions of the Bible (ESV, Holman, etc.).

But if this analogy helps us to better understand several scriptures regarding the original establishment and expansion of Christianity, it should also remind us that like the beachhead of Normandy, Christianity’s beachhead cost many lives to make freedom from the powers of darkness, and ultimately salvation, possible.  Principally, of course, it cost the life of the “captain of our salvation” (Hebrews 2:10 KJV), but we should remember that the Book of Acts shows that many others also gave up their lives on that original beachhead as they followed Christ.
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Today we are called to lay down our lives, too –  even if only metaphorically –  for the sake of others.  The message of the Kingdom of God has spread out into the world, but not all the world has been reached.  Wherever missionary activity is occurring, beachheads exist.  Some are in distant lands, others are in our own communities.  But if we are following the command given to the followers of Christ, we can give and serve to help establish those beachheads whether in person or in prayer.  On which beachhead are you fighting today?