From Lenae, GEMS Training Manager
Messengers
Who Make a Mess of Things
Jonah
prayed, “But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What
I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’”
If bringing the message were based on our
perfection, Jonah would not have been given a second chance to go to Nineveh.
God would have let Jonah keep running, and sought a new messenger (who would
also eventually mess up) for Nineveh.
God showed us there was more at stake
then the city. He loved the people in Nineveh who needed the message, and
He loved His messenger Jonah! He cared for the lost and the one from His
fold who was prone to wander. It was out of God’s gracious compassion that He
sent Jonah to Nineveh, and that He pursued Jonah when he took off in the
wrong direction.
When we are messengers who make a mess of
things we can beat ourselves up, try to erase it from our memory, or like
Jonah, go below deck and take a nap. Ironically, the captain woke Jonah
up and said, “Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us
so that we will not perish” (Jonah
1:6). “Maybe” God will take notice? He’s the One who sent the storm in the
first place! He is always on watch for those who need Him!
This storm was in God’s hands. So is
salvation. Even in Jonah’s disobedience, God worked out His salvation in the
hearts of the sailors and in time, Nineveh. Jonah had made a mess of things,
but God still worked a miracle.
After the sailors threw Jonah overboard,
the sea grew still and the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a
sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him (Jonah
1:16). It’s one thing to fear God in the storm; it’s quite another when the
waters are calm. It’s evidence that true conversion took place!
Like Jonah, God has entrusted us with a
message to bring, and like Jonah we are capable of messing up. Whether someone
is receptive to the message or not, remember that salvation does not come from
us nor does it depend on us. Salvation comes from the LORD! We plant gospel
seeds, but only God can make them grow (1
Corinthians 3:6).
Send Me: Forgiveness is also from the Lord. When
we make a mess of things, ask God for forgiveness, and ask Him to do what only
He can do. Salvation comes from Him!
Many Christians fail to share their faith because
they are trying to do it perfectly, and since they cannot do it perfectly, they
remain silent. What really convinces others of the truth of the Christian
message is not our perfection or our rational arguments, but our willingness to
love them where they are and to introduce them to our community of faith.
C. John Miller
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