Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 130; Jonah 3:1-4:11; Matthew 7:21-29; Galatians 2:11-21; Psalm 126
October 3, 1995 was one of those days I’ll never forget. Most folks might remember that day for its larger historical event. That was the day OJ Simpson was found “not guilty” in the deaths of his wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. But that wasn’t the event that defined the day for me. October 3, 1995 was also the day that I learned that one of my best friends from my elementary/junior high/high school had passed away suddenly at the age of 29. I had known Brooke since we were six years old! She was one of those amazing people who had a smile that lit up a room and a laugh that was truly infectious. I remember sitting in my cubicle at work that October day trying to absorb the absurdity of the two events: on one hand a wealthy celebrity had used his money and fame to gain his freedom while on the other hand a beautiful, amazing light had been prematurely extinguished. It took months for me to regain a sense of perspective about the events. In many ways, I was in a situation somewhat like Jonah’s in today’s passage - for Jonah was struggling to reconcile two contrasting situations. He was upset that a group of people he too felt was undeserving (the Ninevites) had also gotten off. And to make matters worse, he also felt the stinging loss of something he valued (though in his case his loss wasn’t a person but a vine). So what was a lesson to be gleaned from Jonah’s experience? For me, the lesson I pulled from today’s story was that we as individuals often lack a sense of perspective. We get so caught up in our own stuff that we lose sight of a bigger picture. Thankfully God has a wonderful (albeit it sometimes painfully direct) way of helping us restore our sense of perspective. Remember when God commented to Jonah: “You have been concerned about this vine… but Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people!” (Jonah 4:10-11 – NIV). So the next time you find yourself struggling to make sense of the world on your own, try taking a step back and seeing if God can help restore a sense of perspective. Til next time…
October 3, 1995 was one of those days I’ll never forget. Most folks might remember that day for its larger historical event. That was the day OJ Simpson was found “not guilty” in the deaths of his wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. But that wasn’t the event that defined the day for me. October 3, 1995 was also the day that I learned that one of my best friends from my elementary/junior high/high school had passed away suddenly at the age of 29. I had known Brooke since we were six years old! She was one of those amazing people who had a smile that lit up a room and a laugh that was truly infectious. I remember sitting in my cubicle at work that October day trying to absorb the absurdity of the two events: on one hand a wealthy celebrity had used his money and fame to gain his freedom while on the other hand a beautiful, amazing light had been prematurely extinguished. It took months for me to regain a sense of perspective about the events. In many ways, I was in a situation somewhat like Jonah’s in today’s passage - for Jonah was struggling to reconcile two contrasting situations. He was upset that a group of people he too felt was undeserving (the Ninevites) had also gotten off. And to make matters worse, he also felt the stinging loss of something he valued (though in his case his loss wasn’t a person but a vine). So what was a lesson to be gleaned from Jonah’s experience? For me, the lesson I pulled from today’s story was that we as individuals often lack a sense of perspective. We get so caught up in our own stuff that we lose sight of a bigger picture. Thankfully God has a wonderful (albeit it sometimes painfully direct) way of helping us restore our sense of perspective. Remember when God commented to Jonah: “You have been concerned about this vine… but Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people!” (Jonah 4:10-11 – NIV). So the next time you find yourself struggling to make sense of the world on your own, try taking a step back and seeing if God can help restore a sense of perspective. Til next time…
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