38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Dear God, Jesus seems to be pretty frustrated here. But I like the analogy here to Nineveh. I have always been amazed at their willingness to repent. What was going on in their lives and society that made them so willing to submit to you? How were they so ready to embrace you.
There is some kind of line here between those who believe themselves to be righteous (the people Jesus is speaking to) and those who know they are not and need you. But I think what Jesus is looking for are those who already reject evil and yet are willing to embrace him/you too.
Father, help me to be embrace you regardless of how in control I might feel. Help me to completely turn loose of my self-righteousness and consider it as worthless to me so that I might feel your direction and love. Be glorified in me. Give me your peace. More importantly, give me your direction. Show me how to leave my family and lead my business. Show me how to manage my own life. When you think of me, I hope you think of me more as someone who is from Nineveh and less like someone who is in Jesus’ audience in this story.
Emails to God 