Romans 12:20

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."

This isn't a verse saying your enemies will be punished and condemned when you are nice to them.  These aren't the fiery coals of Hell.  You aren't secretly damning your enemies in some sort of sinister plot.  Rather a few commentaries on Proverbs 25:21-22 point out that burning coals is a smelting metaphor, a process of obtaining the valuable metals out of ore.  These burning coals have a refining effect of removing the impurities from the metal and leaving only what is valuable.  This is a beneficial effect.  Our enemies will be ashamed for they have nothing bad to say about us (Titus 2:6-8) and may turn into friends.

But if while we were enemies with God, while we were still sinners Christ died for us so that we may be reconciled to him in death, how much more will we be saved through his life! (Rom 5:1-11)  God himself has continued to provide for us though we despised and hated him.  How foolish have we become to bite the hand that feeds!  But now that God's love has been made plain to us through the death and resurrection of Christ, we now seek to imitate his love.  We who have experienced God's love and provision are being refined in the fire, being purified unto peace with a Holy God.

Luke 24:38

"He said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  Look at my hands and my feet.  It is I myself!  Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."


No one believed the resurrection.  Even when it was plainly told to them that Christ would be raised on the Third Day, no one believed him at first and even Peter rebuked him.  But not even Christ expected us to believe blindly, but he says, "Touch me and see!"  This is not the testimony of irrational men or blind followers, but men who tested what they saw and believed in the truth.

The very idea of Jesus and His Resurrection sounds like pure and utter nonsense (v11) and Peter must have thought he was investigating a crime scene rather than the truth of our Risen Lord.  Every disciple doubted the resurrection and Peter's first conclusion, being a rational man, was not "He must've walked out".  He saw him beaten.  He saw him die and he is still grieving the loss.  What cruel new insult now is this to the memory of his beloved Lord?

They did not even recognize him as he talked to them (v16), but their hearts burned like fire within them as he spoke.  It was not until they ate with him as he broke the bread that they knew Him(v30-31).  It is not until they touched him (v39) that they believed for they all had doubt in their minds (v38).  No one comes to believe that Christ is risen until they reach out to touch him.  And when we've touched him, He touches us.