The racing community is a tight-knit group in West Texas; different tracks here see the same drivers and teams cycle in and out throughout the season. Last year, a racer was hit in the head with a wrench at an event, and it came out that a lawsuit had been filed – against the track where it happened, the sanctioning body, and anyone (in)directly involved with money. That racer came out on social media pretty quickly, said that was not their intention, and told the lawyer to drop it. Needless to say, it’s caused a rift in our local motorsports family.
The whole situation provided great context for a recent chapel message that used the story of Jonah to point to grace and mercy. Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites forgiven by God. The most convicting point was how the book ends: kind of strangely. God asks Jonah a question, “Shouldn’t I care about these people?” And we never hear Jonah’s answer.
Maybe Scripture leaves Jonah’s response open because God wants ours:
- Can God be gracious to someone who disappointed me?
- Can God restore someone I’ve written off?
- Can God work in someone whose choices I don’t understand?
- Can God forgive someone I think should know better?
- Can God love someone I am angry with?
The clear answer to all of these questions is, of course He can. The harder question is, can I rejoice when He does?
I was certainly convicted…thinking about the difference between FORGIVING someone who has wronged me and actually REJOICING when they repent. Apparently, others felt it, too. I had probably 15 people come up to me during the race and say, “My heart needed that. I’m going to try and let this anger go.”
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