Do you remember Jonah? Jonah did something very bad. When God said, “Go to Nineveh,” Jonah set sail for Tarshish, a city in the exact opposite direction.
Jonah disobeyed God for the same reasons I cringe when I hear Jesus tell me to pray for those that hurt me. Jonah didn’t want to share God’s mercy with the godless people of Nineveh. Jonah knew God would have mercy on them and he didn't like that. They didn't deserve it. Jonah wanted God to give up on them the way he had given up on them.
Whether it’s with the first time offender like the guy who cuts me off in traffic, or the repeated offender like someone close to me who hurts me over and over again...I have a heart that wants to give up on people too. “To hell with them and the pain they have caused me and others.”
But what jumps out more than Jonah’s stubborn reluctance, is the Lord’s gracious persistence...with Jonah and the Ninevites. Jonah deserved to fall to the bottom of the sea and have his lungs fill with water until his soul separated from his body and went straight to hell. But long before Jonah even boarded the boat headed in the opposite direction, the Lord was cooking up a storm and growing a fish. His boy, Jonah was going to learn firsthand a very important lesson about forgiveness—God offers it unconditionally and to all.
Jesus died for the sins of all people. Not one of us has earned it and no one deserves it but God still says it...I forgive you. What a joy to hear those words. What a joy to say those words.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. - Colossians 3:13 Make time to read the book of Jonah today. It just took me 4 minutes...seriously.
