So, what if the person you have harmed will not forgive or will not allow you to make restitution? What happens if the person has moved and their address cannot be obtained? What happens if the person has died? Does this mean that we cannot obtain forgiveness from our heavenly Father and LORD?
We must remember that God knows the heart of both you and the offended. If you have done all that is possible, if you have done all that He has laid on your heart to do, if you have sacrificed your will in these matters and had Him conform your will to His, you will have your forgiveness. This could include writing a letter to the deceased or missing person as though you were speaking to them. It could also consist of acting out a scenario of repentance with them. If this is the case, you will have your forgiveness if you have confessed the same to God and asked Him for forgiveness.
Romans 13:7-8 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
As previously stated, all things are owned by God and, therefore, we owe God our will and obedience to forgive. Here again we see that the will of God is to obey the laws of the land and to render all that it requires. We see that all that God requires us to do is to love one another. He gave that simple command during His last evening and supper with His disciples. John 13:34, “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.” We are told in another passage that love is perfection, Colossians 3:14, “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
Our character will change, and we will desire to be conformed and transformed into the image of Christ. The Psalmist states it like this, Psalms 17:15, “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” We will hunger and thirst for righteousness and we will be filled. Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” We will experience true peace at the moment our wills are in line with His.
Proverbs 25:21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
God always gives us practical help when He is instructing us in His holiness. Here He gives a practical application of mercy. In biblical times, fire was man’s only source of heat. Here is the application of love by “heaping hot coals” on our enemy’s head. This verse has nothing to do with heavenly revenge, as so many think or desire. God doesn’t suddenly switch boats in the middle of the stream. He remains the same, never changing.
Community fires were located in the center of the villages in those times. Someone would always be tending the fire for cooking or heating the homes. After a long day in the fields, one might need to go to the community fire to get some hot coals to take home. He would go to the community fire, grab some hot coals and put some in a basket on his head, and begin his journey home. If he didn’t put enough coals in his basket, his coals would go out before he got home. Therefore, if you saw your enemy passing by and you thought this might be a possibility, you were to stop your enemy and place some of your own hot coals in the basket, thus assuring he would arrive home with enough coals to start a fire of his own.