A Second Chance

When Thomas Edison was working on his invention of the light bulb, I read that the finished product required a team of men to work twenty-four consecutive hours to assemble the first bulb. When they were finished Edison handed the bulb off to a young man who was told to carry it upstairs. That poor man nervously cradled the bulb like it was a premature infant, so worried that he would drop it. And that is exactly what he did. The bulb shattered in a million pieces. 

The crew went right back to work, and twenty-four hours later they completed the second light bulb. Who do you think Edison entrusted to carry the bulb upstairs? He handed it off to that same young man who had already destroyed their first bulb, but this time that assistant successfully carried the bulb up the stairs. Sometimes we all could use a second chance. 

That truth is one of my favorite aspects of the ministry of the prophet Jonah. It is widely known that he was called by God to go to the great city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The city’s magnificence was rivaled only by its wickedness. We can’t blame Jonah for not wanting to go; archaeological evidence shows us that the Ninevites, led by their cruel king Ashurbanipal, impaled prisoners of war and left them to die in the sun; they beheaded victims and stacked their skulls outside the city gates as a warning to would-be invaders; they skinned people alive; and Nahum tells us they even practiced infanticide by throwing unwanted babies into the streets. Jonah didn’t want to go because he didn’t think people like that deserved God’s mercy and forgiveness. 

So Jonah decided not to go to Nineveh. He chose Tarshish as his destination, but he never arrived there. You know the story: God sends a storm, the pagan sailors decide the gods must be punishing them, they throw Jonah overboard, and he is swallowed by a special fish, only to repent and be regurgitated on dry land. 

Armed with a second chance, the prophet commits to keep his vow (2:9), and this time he gets it right (minus the bad attitude, but that is another topic). Because of Jonah’s preaching, more than 120,000 people repent of their unspeakable wickedness and God spared the city for another century. 

Do you always get it right the first time? Me neither. I’m thankful for a God who gives second chances (and third chances!). If you are in the middle of doing something wrong right now, repent of it and ask the Lord for a second chance and a fresh start. But don’t miss the real theme of Jonah: “Salvation belongs to the Lord (2:9).” 

Jonah didn’t want to take the gospel to people he thought were undeserving of mercy, yet when he was in the fish’s belly, mercy is what he prayed for. We don’t deserve mercy, but we receive it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking God shouldn’t extend that same undeserved mercy to those we might deem as being too wicked, but share the good news with those who need to hear it most.