In 1994, Rwanda experienced one of the most horrific genocides in modern history. In just 100 days, nearly 800,000 people were killed—not by distant warfare, but through face-to-face violence between neighbors, friends, and community members who had once shared meals together. This unimaginable evil raises a profound question that challenges every human heart: What would justice look like for you if you were a survivor?

When we hear stories of such evil, something deep within us cries out for justice. We want to see punishment, revenge, and balance restored. This desire isn't wrong—it's actually wired into us because we're made in the image of a just God. Scripture tells us that God himself is just, and this longing for justice reflects his character within us.

However, there's a problem. When justice is placed entirely in human hands, it often leads to more harm rather than healing. Revenge escalates, cycles continue, and violence multiplies. This is why Scripture draws a clear boundary in Romans 12:19: "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God."

While Scripture clearly states that justice belongs to God, it also reveals something else about his character that can make us uncomfortable. The same God who claims justice for himself is also described as "merciful and forgiving" (Daniel 9:9) and "a God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love" (Exodus 34:6-7).

This creates a tension many of us struggle with. We want God to be just—until mercy is offered to someone we believe has gone too far. The uncomfortable question becomes: What if God forgives the person you believe deserves only judgment?

Romans 3:23 reminds us that "everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God's glorious standard." While different sins carry different consequences, every sin is rebellion against a holy God. This means every one of us stands in need of mercy and forgiveness.

If we're honest, we often want God to be just for others but merciful for us. We draw the line right where we think, "Well, that's not what I would do." But Scripture doesn't allow us to stay comfortable there.

The story of Jonah perfectly illustrates this tension between wanting justice for others and mercy for ourselves. Most people know Jonah as the prophet who was swallowed by a great fish, but that's actually a small part of a much deeper story about a prophet's heart.

The Reluctant Prophet

God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, the brutal capital of Israel's enemy, Assyria, and preach against their evil. Instead of obeying, Jonah did the exact opposite—he tried to flee as far away as possible. After the famous fish incident, God gave Jonah a second chance.

The Minimal Message

When Jonah finally went to Nineveh, he delivered what may be the most underwhelming sermon in Scripture. Walking just one day into this massive city (it took three days to cross), he simply declared: "40 days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed." That's it. No explanation, no call to action, no mention of God's name, and no hope offered.

The Shocking Response

Despite Jonah's half-hearted obedience and lackluster message, something amazing happened: the entire city repented. From the greatest to the least, including even the king, the people turned to God. The repentance was so complete that even the livestock were included in the citywide fast.

The key to understanding this story lies in one Hebrew word from Jonah's message: hafok, which means "to overturn" or "to churn." This word can mean two very different things depending on the context:

• Destruction (as used for Sodom and Gomorrah)
• Transformation (as used when Saul was anointed king)

Jonah's prophecy was intentionally ambiguous: "40 days from now, Nineveh will be overturned." Either way, the prophecy would come true. If they refused to change, they would be overturned in judgment. If they repented, they would be overturned through mercy.

In this one word, we see something breathtaking about God's character. He is not okay with evil continuing to exist—justice matters to a just God. But God also makes space for mercy. Both judgment and mercy are real possibilities, and which one is experienced depends on our response.

This principle carries straight into the New Testament and our lives today. Romans 6:23 tells us, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Every person will be "overturned"—the only question is whether it will be through judgment or mercy.

When God showed mercy to Nineveh, Jonah was furious. He finally revealed why he had tried to run away initially—not because he was afraid, but because he knew God would be merciful. Jonah condemned God for being "too nice" to Israel's enemies.

God responded with a simple question: "Is it right for you to be angry about this?"

The Object Lesson of the Plant

God provided a plant to give Jonah shade, which brought him great joy. But the next day, God sent a worm to destroy the plant, and Jonah became angry again. God used this as an object lesson: "You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there... But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness... Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"

Jonah's story confronts us with a hard truth: we often want mercy for ourselves and justice for everyone else. But to reflect God's character, we need to want mercy for all.

The reason we struggle with this, like Jonah did, is because we want control over the outcome. We want a certain kind of "overturning." But when we allow our minds to be renewed by God's character, we're set free from the weight of deciding who deserves mercy and who deserves judgment.

Our Role in God's Story

Our role is not to manage outcomes—that belongs to God. Our role is to bear witness and share the truth of the gospel with everyone in our lives so they might have a chance to be transformed rather than destroyed.

When we live this way, we're freed from:

• The weight of evil that surrounds us
• Bitterness toward those who have hurt us
• The need for control over outcomes

Instead, we become people who carry light into dark places and offer others the same second chances God has offered us.

The Power of Forgiveness: Rwanda's Example

The story that began this message has an incredible ending. After the Rwanda genocide, something as shocking as the violence itself occurred: survivors came face to face with their attackers and chose to offer mercy and forgiveness instead of taking justice into their own hands.

Today, there are documented stories of former enemies worshiping together in the same churches. The forgiveness didn't erase the evil or minimize the suffering, but it did something more powerful—it overturned the story. Rwanda is now remembered not for the violence that took place, but for the forgiveness that followed.

This happened because courageous followers of Jesus trusted that God was in control and that every person would be overturned—either through justice or transformation. They understood their role was faithfulness, forgiveness, and offering the same second chances God had offered them.

Life Application

God calls us to trust him enough to let him be the judge we don't need to be. When someone hurts us or we witness what we believe to be evil, we can remember that God is in control. Those people will be overturned—vengeance belongs to the Lord.

Our challenge this week is to identify someone in our lives who has hurt us or someone we believe doesn't deserve mercy. Instead of harboring bitterness or seeking our own justice, we're called to offer them the same mercy God has offered us. This doesn't mean excusing their actions or removing consequences, but it means trusting God with the outcome and choosing to reflect his character of both justice and mercy.

Questions for Reflection:

• Who in your life do you struggle to extend mercy toward?
• How might your perspective change if you truly believed that person will be "overturned" by God—either through judgment or transformation?
• What would it look like for you to offer someone a second chance this week, just as God has offered you countless second chances?
• Are you trying to control outcomes that belong to God, and how might releasing that control free you to love others better?