End Goal

 

Jonah 3:10-4:11 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” 

Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 

Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

 

During my holiday week, I visit my other family church at Bass Lake, California and attended their Sunday worship service. Pastor Herk finished the sermon series by summing up that God wants us to be a witness of the Gospel to our enemies for their repentance and salvation. We tend to be just like the Prophet Jonah desiring mercy for ourselves but wanting justice for everyone else. But, what does God want? What is His “end goal”? 

 

Our heavenly Father will equip you in your life to accomplish His will for your life. Yet, in our mortal mind, we can have the right Christian doctrine and the right biblical Theology, but be wrong with God. The Supreme Being of heaven and earth wants our heart, not just your head. When we are wronged by others, we tend to look for a defense and revenge. This causes us to failure to forgive based upon our personal view of justice, mercy, grace and repentance. But God’s desired goal is to “win people over” by His love, which leads to repentance and salvation. He provides a way for sinners to draw closer to Him and find forgiveness by His mercy and grace. 

 

Pastor Herk says that if you want to love others like God loves you, then you must love others as God loves you. We find our identity in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” We need to read the Gospel daily. Born again Believers are all sinners saved by the grace of God through the substitutionary sacrificial death of our Savior Jesus Christ on the Cross for our sins. So, we should be “mercy-givers” and “prayer warriors” for others. We must be willing to be uncomfortable and flexible in order to seek and save the lost, as we are commissioned by the Lord to do. The question is: Is our heart truly in it? And ultimately, are we obedient to the Lord? The “end goal” is saving lives.

 

So, what is important in life? Who is our Nineveh today that God want us to witness to? It take “face-to-face” gospel outreach to our family, friends and neighbors because the Nineveh today is all around us. Life is not about me, not about I, not about number one. Life is about living a life pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, obeying God and following Jesus. Love God and love others. 

 

In Christ, Brian