You’ve heard the story of Jonah, right? The guy who gets swallowed by a big fish because he ran from God.

But the point of the story is not the fish. Don’t get distracted by the fish.
The key to the story of Jonah is found at the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4.

At the end of chapter 3, the people of Nineveh repent and turn to God. You may not realize this, but the people of Nineveh were terrible. They were disgusting in their behavior toward each other and brutal in their behavior toward other nations.

When Jonah finally goes to Nineveh, he preaches the shortest sermon ever (see chapter 3 verse 4), and they repent. And at the beginning of chapter 4, Jonah, speaking to God, tells us why he didn’t want to go to Nineveh in the first place.

“And he prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’”

‭‭Jonah‬ ‭4:2-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jonah ran away and didn’t want to go to Nineveh
because he knew that God would forgive them.
And he didn’t want that to happen.
Probably because he thought the Ninevites deserved God’s anger …
and, he didn’t want to be known as the guy who brought God’s forgiveness to them.
Imagine how that would damage his reputation!

The point of the story of Jonah is not the fish.
The point is this: who deserves God’s grace?

Jonah had put people in categories.
“Us…them.”
“We’re in…they’re out.”
“Those people.”

Jonah knew that God was gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love, and relenting from disaster. And he didn’t want the people of Nineveh to experience that.

Those people didn’t deserve it.

those liberal Democrats
those right-wing Republicans
those Muslims
those legalistic Christians
those environmentalists
those child abusers
those racists
those people that don’t speak English
those pro-choice people
those homosexuals
those ???

Who are “those people” in your world?
Who makes your blood boil?
When you see them on the news or read about them on CNN or Fox News
or walk past them in the grocery store … who makes you think,
“they’re disgusting.”

It’s not the same group for everyone. Who is it for you?
For Jonah, the people of Nineveh were “those people.”
They deserved nothing other than the judgment of God.
They certainly didn’t deserve a moment of consideration
or a chance at redemption or a hand of compassion.

Those people only deserve judgment,
ridicule, and death.

So what is your category of THOSE PEOPLE?

We love to sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!”
We know the songs, we know the scriptures. (Just like Jonah did.)

But somewhere deep inside, somewhere we don’t mention
and certainly don’t want to acknowledge,
we still think of ourselves as better than THOSE PEOPLE.
We still think, “I may have been a wretch in some ways,
but I wasn’t as bad as … THOSE PEOPLE.”

The story of Jonah compels us to admit the prejudice that exists within our hearts.
That we put people in categories.
That we believe, deep down, that we are better than, more deserving than,
more important than … those people.

The story of Jonah shows us that … in God’s view … there is only one category.

those people
who need to be forgiven and restored

We are all … those people.
In God’s eyes, we are all in that category—
we need to be forgiven and restored.

We all need to hear the message of His amazing grace and steadfast mercy.
We all need to feel the power of His healing hands and loving arms.

My prayer for you today is that you be reminded that YOU are one of
those people.
One of those people who has been forgiven and restored
only by the power … and the grace … and the hope … and the love of God.

And may you realize that EVERY PERSON you see—
no matter who they are …
or what they are …
or where they’re from—
can be one of
those people, too.