Believing God’s Word

Do we take God at His word? Or are we always looking for loopholes or proofs? In today’s reading, God sends Jonah to Nineveh with a simple message: turn from your sin or Nineveh will be destroyed. This message sparked change in their hearts and in their lives. They believed!  They could see God’s authority in Jonah and they acted on this belief. The king of this mighty city fasted and called every living creature in his kingdom to do the same. He commanded his people to turn from their violent and evil deeds.

Contrast that with the Gospel and we see Jesus denouncing the people for demanding a sign before they would believe. Jesus, Himself, was the sign they were to believe in. But their hard-heartedness and spiritual blindness prevented them from believing, repenting and following Him. They could not perceive His authority as God’s or the love with which He was calling them.

As we journey through Lent, let us beg the Lord to open the eyes of our hearts so that we can see Him and ourselves properly so we become more aware of our sin and God’s mercy. This will give us both the motivation and courage to truly be transformed. Let us ask God to open the ears of our hearts so we can hear and obey His word. Most importantly, let us ask God to open our hearts so that we can receive a deeper outpouring of faith and love so that we can follow Him more closely as disciples.

This is the great work of our conversion: asking God to help us turn from living for self and as our own masters to people who love God and serve Him as Lord. Under His Kingship, we will receive the love, joy and peace we are seeking.

Turn from your doubt and sin and become free this Lent!

John Beaulieu has worked in the Christian Outreach Office of Franciscan University since 2003 and is the Director of Marketing and Engagement. and is presenting at the Steubenville Conferences this summer, which you can find out more about at steubenvilleconferences.com.