Coals of Fire

But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:27-36

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Bless Those Who Curse You

If the words “love your enemies” stir resentment, we need to receive that love from Jesus on the cross. Collectively, “while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). Jesus pardoned his enemies from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

Mercy is divine; retaliation is human. Jesus rebuked Simon Peter in the garden of Gethsemane when he drew his sword and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. 

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

Matthew 26:52 (ESV)

Mercy in Israel

Even in ancient Israel, the sages counseled mercy toward enemies as superior to vengeance. David, a precursor of the Messiah, won divine favor by sparing his enemy Saul (1 Samuel 24). Softening Saul by his mercy, David heaped “coals of fire on his head”—the burning righteousness of God that purifies the heart. 

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
for you will heap coals of fire on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.

Proverbs 25:21-22 (ESV); cf. Romans 12:20

Mercy of Christ

Beyond commanding resistant wills, Jesus offers a new vision of humanity and the omnibenevolent God. Viewing all persons as one in the Body of Christ, we cannot separate the good of others from our own good. May we love our enemies with the heart of Christ.

Traditional Chinese Translation

《火炭》
因劍而生者，為劍而死。
智者堆炭火，澆滅不和。