When you watch a movie, everyone hates the villain. Usually the villain is evil, awful and wants to be hated by the terrible things they do. You want to cheer on the hero trying to save innocent people, and destroy the evil enemy.
In the Bible, in Book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh were the villains. They hated Israel, but that wasn’t where it ended. They were brutal. The Assyrians would put hooks in the noses or mouths of their enemies, tie cords to the hooks and drag them around, boasting of their conquests.
“But I know you well—
where you stay
and when you come and go.
I know the way you have raged against me.
And because of your raging against me
and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
I will make you return
by the same road on which you came.”
—Isaiah 37:28-29 (NLT)
Fun group. Rightly so, people were terrified of them!
Yet, God called Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh and share His message. I understand why Jonah ran in the opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a big fish, until he prayed and God had Jonah spit out of the fish’s mouth onto the shore.
God wanted the people of Nineveh to turn away from their sin and come to Him. Even though they were brutal and savage and absolutely terrifying, God still wanted their hearts. Jonah did end up going to Nineveh, and the the people prayed earnestly that God would not destroy them. God had mercy on them and changed His mind, not destroying them.
We are all sinners. I am a sinner, I have made countless bad choices in my life, that I absolutely cringe remembering. Yet, God had mercy on me, gave me grace and forgave me. Am I worthy of forgiveness? No, but none of us are, yet God has grace for all of us.
So, do you apply levels of worthiness to people based on if their sins deserve to be saved? Just like in the movies, we don’t want the villains to be forgiven. They don’t deserve forgiveness. The thing is, God thinks they do deserve it, just like the people of Nineveh.
If you come to God and seek forgiveness, and believe in all God has done by giving us salvation with a Savior, God wants you. God wants us all. Even those who think they are past forgiveness. With God, they aren’t. God loves the sinners and the saints.
If you have enemies, frenemies or people that don’t like you, it is hard to lovingly ask for grace on them. Satan loves hatred and animosity. Satan loves to remind you of all the bad things they have done to you. God wants you to release the burden, forgive them and move on. Forgiveness does not mean being best friends or even being around them. Forgiveness means releasing the burden from our hearts and giving it to God. Then you can live your life, enjoy your life, have fun and laugh.
God knows where you are at with your heart. God knows what you have done or not done. If God has a heart to give the worst of the worst a chance for forgiveness, what is stopping you from seeking God’s forgiveness for yourself and those who hurt us?
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
—Jonah 3 (NLT)
Embrace This Beautiful Life 