We are still Jonah

We are still running from our calling to deliver mercy. We still prefer judgment. We still hope that there will be no turning from evil so that there can be destruction.

Christians love so many of the stories in the Old Testament, why not Jonah? People love to remember the wrath around the story of Noah, but not the message of mercy in the story of Jonah. Have you ever asked why? It is because deep down we want whoever we perceive to be the “bad guys” to get what they “deserve.” Deep down we know that testimony is the spirit of prophecy, deep down we know what that means, and deep down WE want to decide how judgment or mercy is realized.

We want others to pay, though we do not have to pay; even though we have been spared, we want others to be punished. We have yet to align with the fact that Jesus paid it all, and all that He paid for He will most assuredly receive.

It was justice for us to receive punishment, but He stepped in for us. If the hardest thing ever done was for the Father to look away and let it happen; then how much greater would the injustice be if this greatest of all sacrifices were cheated? Far surpassing the mercy of us not receiving what we deserve in our guilt would be the injustice of Him not receiving what he paid for with His innocence.

He paid it all, he gets it all; all. All. ALL. Did sin not send a ripple through the entire universe, did not His sacrifice pay for it all? Stop living like it was a partial payment. But if you are going to keep believing it was a partial payment then put your money where your mouth is and say it, be an adult and own your beliefs. If he paid the price for only some restoration, then say it, tell Him that the righteousness of His sacrifice was only so good, that it only works to a certain point; that it has limits & bounds, that death is greater, that darkness will prevail, that the gates of hell are too strong. If not, then stop preaching the gospel of partial sacrifice and partial victory, also known as surrender.

He will never surrender. What the heck do you think we say “come” for.. a loss? Something less than Total Victory? Something less than Him receiving all that he paid for? People often talk about being on the right side of history; I’d say it’s slightly more important to be on the right side of eternity.

I often say, “It is up to us.” And for most things that’s true. Yet this does not apply to us deciding what His sacrifice isn’t big enough for. (Insert the M.J. - Stop it… Get help - meme)

He will set every captive free, He will restore all things, and He will receive everything he paid for. Our pitiful & prideful attempts to tell Him what he isn’t allowed to do aren’t stopping anything other than our ability to be where He is, do what He is doing, and hear what He is saying.

You may prefer your gospel of surrender. Good luck with that. Let me know how it goes. I like His-story better. For me, I will never surrender, I will believe for, and work toward the restoration of all things and the setting free of every captive. 

Jesus paid it all, your attempts to rob him of “ALL,” will only get you eaten by a whale to bring you back towards your calling to say what he has always been asking you to declare: “It is finished.”

Overcome your offense; join me on the right side of eternity. 

Hold Tension, Be Vast.

Remember, restoration alone brings victory.