You know about Jerry Sandusky and Pennsylvania State University and the sodomy stuff, right? Sure you do (you’re online, after all).
Do you also know about Nineveh and the evil in that city?
Well, Jonah certainly knew about Nineveh…and he certainly wasn’t going there on any errand of grace and mercy! But now look what I did; I got ahead of myself…
When I hear about terrible things like a former Penn State football coach sodomizing young boys and other men covering it up for fear of bad publicity, I wish God would make me an Avenging Angel superhero, traveling the planet rescuing children and dealing with perverts. I want them to suffer for what they’ve done and feel the same pain they’ve inflicted on the vulnerable and the weak. What I don’t want to do is to pray for the salvation of perverts or “cry out against their wickedness” so they can repent. Although God gave me the awesome and undeserved gift of eternity in His presence, I want certain sinners to be denied that gift.
I am like Jonah.
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Do I begrudge the salvation of people who hurt children? To do so would be shameful. When sinners repent, God is glorified. When I was unrepentant, people preached to me, and prayed.
I’m glad they weren’t like Jonah.
I just gave you the first two and last two paragraphs of a not-too-long-to-read article — an article I find very challenging and convicting.
Years ago I wrote some Jonah and Nineveh pieces that still apply today:
Yesterday I asked about praying good for Muslims.
Today I wonder how many are praying good for Jerry Sandusky.
And while we’re praying for Sandusky and his repentance, how about praying also for a society where the uproar and indignation is not over the fact that his sexual perversion was with males?