Jonah ends his story unchanged. The city repents. The people turn. Even the animals are drawn into God’s mercy.
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Paul does not try to make this comfortable. He does not soften the claim or explain it away. He simply names the truth: mercy does not belong to us.
I grew up keeping score. My Granny and I could play games for hours—Uno, Go Fish, and especially Scrabble.
Long before Jesus tells a story about workers in a vineyard, God gives instructions about labor, wages, and dignity.
I tend to read this verse as reassurance—God is patient with others.
Patience is not a virtue I possess in abundance. I admire it. I practice it—at least in theory.
As a kid, I loved the game hide and seek. I was pretty clever at it, often hiding in places nobody else thought of before.“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever.”
If you have read devotionals I have written, you might know that during the COVID lockdown my wife and I started a practice with some other friends of meeting online every night to read scripture and pray together.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever.”
When I served as senior pastor, Sunday after Sunday—just before I preached—I would quote these words:
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever.”