Wait, aren’t there ten commandments? Yes, but Jesus said “A NEW commandment I give to you, that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER; AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, that you also love one another. By this ALL WILL KNOW that YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) “This is My commandment (the new one), that you love one another AS I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (John 15:12-14)
Jesus taught this in the “Lord’s Prayer” “forgive us our debts, AS WE FORGIVE our debtors.” (Matt. 6:12) “In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” (Pro. 25:22) Sometimes, a person’s fire would go out during the night, and before they could cook their breakfast, they had to go to a neighbor’s house to get a coal so they could relight their fire. So Proverbs 25:22 teaches that if the fire of your enemy goes out, and they come asking for a coal to relight their fire, instead of turning them away or giving just one, we should be extravagantly generous. How? We must keep one coal for ourselves, and give all the rest of the burning coals to our enemy, HEAP THESE COALS ON THEM to be put in their coal carrying vessel which was often carried on the head.
While we are being helpful make sure “…nothing is done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each ESTEEM OTHERS better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS. Let this mind BE IN YOU which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Phil. 2:3-5)
-Bill Stockham