You Are Not Discarded

Jonah 3:1
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."

Jonah might have considered it an honor and a privilege for the word of the Lord to come to him once.

Instead, he was blinded by hatred, prejudice, and reluctance. After all, God was asking him to preach to a bitter enemy that had proved its propensity for ruthlessness and violence against his people.

Jonah knew God well and knew God to be merciful and relenting in judgment. He did not want to take the risk that the people of Nineveh would hear the message of judgment, repent, and be forgiven by a gracious God.

So, he ran away, but God caught him.

That is another part of the same story.

Then, the word, the call, the summons came again.

For that word to come to us once is a major thing. For it to come twice is a sign of God's persistence in purpose and God's patience with us. God had as much mercy for Jonah as for the people of Nineveh.

Whatever your failure or rebellion, God still has a role for you in the Kingdom of Love.

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Art: Walters Manuscript W.534, fol. 38v -- Illustrated Books of Hours in Greek are extremely rare. This example is also of interest because its miniatures show interaction between the Late Byzantine and Gothic artistic styles. It may have been copied on the island of Crete, which in the fifteenth century was ruled by Venice. 15th century