Life Is Messy, God Is GoodSample

I'm Sorry?

Messy truth: The journey of forgiveness is less about our heart for those who wronged us, and more about our heart toward the One who relentlessly forgives us.

I’m willing to confess that I’ve struggled with forgiveness at times in my life.

My road to forgiveness has similarities to the story of Jonah. God told him to go and preach words of life to his most bitter enemies, and Jonah was like “Ummm … you got the wrong guy here.” He told Jonah to go east, and Jonah hightailed it to the west.

Jonah had zero interest in being the vessel of deliverance for the Ninevites. So much so that he asked a bunch of sailors to throw him off a ship on the way to Tarshish because death felt better than obedience if it meant compassion and kindness toward his greatest enemies.

But in His mercy, God didn’t leave Jonah to die alone in the murky waters of disobedience. He gave him some time to reflect in the belly of a whale, knowing eventually (I mean e-ven-tu-al-ly) Jonah would come around. And Jonah did come to his senses in a kinda, sorta, half-witting way and apologized for his actions without ever saying actual words of apology.

God responded to his “I’m sorry-ish” with vomit (I can appreciate that) and sent him packing to Nineveh with a sour spirit but a saving message. Ironically, the message Jonah so adamantly didn’t want to deliver to the Ninevites is the same five words I’ve found to be a key to forgiveness: “Salvation comes from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).

Trusting God as your only salvation means holding loosely to those things that will inevitably let you down. And by loosening your grip, you’re knocking down the walls to forgiveness and grace—no longer holding people to a standard on which they can’t deliver.