The Surprising Grace of God | Jonah 3:1-10
Have you ever needed a redo before? A mulligan? A second chance? When I was in college, at the University of Kentucky, one of the requirements for graduation with my degree was taking Calculus. Sounds crazy, right?! So, I had heard from friends that the best thing to do was take it during the summer at a local community college because it would be easier and cheaper. So, a couple of friends and myself signed up for Calculus at Somerset Community College with a certain professor. The reason I chose this professor was because he had been teaching this same class, he used the same notes and same tests. Hint, hint! Wink, wink! So essentially, all you had to do was memorize the tests. All was going well until, the professor decided to change the final. When he did so, it messed everyone up in the class for obvious reasons. We all failed; maybe one person passed! So, in an act of sheer mercy and grace, he allowed us all to retake the test. I retook the test after studying my rear off and got a B in the class for the glory of God. I was thankful for the second chance.
The Book of Jonah was written by Jonah, the prophet, in the 8th century BC, who ran from God, but God gave him another chance to obey even though he didn’t deserve it. As we read the book, we learn that the book is not about Jonah, a big fish, or a great city but about our gracious God, who relentlessly pursues rebellious people. One of our biggest issues in life is that we have a big view of man and small view of God and what He can do in our lives and the lives of others. In Chapter 3, we see that God can use and save anyone because He has a heart for everyone, even if we do not.