The great desire of God is to bring ALL people to Himself. It is the burning passion of His Heart. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ” (2 Peter 3:9, NIV84) God will do all He can to help everyone understand the greatness of His Love, Grace and Mercy.
Sometimes we look at people with natural eyes and we see all the sin, and we see how messed up and ungodly their lives have been. We look and we think inside of ourselves that they are incapable of finding the salvation of the Lord. Paul understood this. “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. ” (Romans 7:24–25, NIV84) If we are ever to escape the bondage of sin and find the salvation of the Lord, it will be through the grace of God Himself.
Jonah was a prophet of God assigned to tell Nineveh they their sin had condemned them to the judgment of God. “”Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” ” (Jonah 1:2, NIV84) Eventually Jonah spoke to the people. “On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” ” (Jonah 3:4, NIV84) Jonah spoke judgment. However the judgment of God did not happen because the people repented. “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. ” (Jonah 3:10, NIV84)
Jonah the prophet did not like that God did not condemn the people because He did not understand the greatness of the mercy and love of God. “Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. ” (Luke 15:3–7, NIV84)
Sometimes we fail to understand that God rejoices over the sinners who repent. We may think that God rejoices over someone who prays the sinner’s prayer for the first time and joins our church, but we don’t trust that God rejoices over repentance. God rejoices over the person who comes into the church the first time. God also rejoices over the backslider who repents. God rejoices over the church leader who repents. God rejoices over repentance.
When repentance happens, restoration follows. David was an adulterer and a murderer. David repented. God made David King. Nebuchadnezzar also sinned. He repented. God restored. “At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. ” (Daniel 4:36–37, NIV84)
God’s purpose is never to condemn people. God’s purpose is to restore people.
