Evangelistic Grace: What's Your Nineveh?

This past summer, as our homeschool year was coming to end, I was spending some time in

prayer with the Lord to ask him what direction He had for our family for the next school

year. I was reflecting on what the past year had looked like, and it came to my attention that we never left our church. Any program that we took part in involved spaces that care well for my family, and surrounded us with the comfort of people who generally share the same values. As a mom, I know my kids are safe there.

One thing about me is that I love people. I am an evangelist to the core. So I asked, “Ok,

Lord. What are we doing about this?"

Can you even believe it when He responds, “Girl, get outside those church walls.”

My oldest has been really into learning different sports, and it’s kind of infiltrated our typically “non-sports” home. So, when I asked my kids what extracurricular they wanted to do this year, they all agreed on soccer. Perfect! There is a recreational league three minutes from my house! Even better, all three kids want to join! I was so excited, I’m pretty sure I registered my kids in May, four months in advance. This was it, we were going to get outside our church walls! AND this was going to be really good for our schedule because it is so close to our house.

The day finally rolls around. My kids are feeling confident in their cleats and shin guards, ready to tackle the world. Now, I have to be honest here. I had a pit in my stomach. “What if kids aren’t nice? Many players are going to have a ton more experience than my kids. What if the parents aren’t nice?” Nevertheless, we made our way to our first practice and settled onto the sidelines. And guess what?! It was great! My kids seemed to get along with the other kids, and my husband and I even engaged in conversation with other parents who were encouraging the players and shared stories with us about their kids. “This is great!” I thought. Everyone is so nice and we are interacting just like I had hoped with new people.

Game day rolls around, and I’m feeling pretty good. We take our seats on the sidelines and send my oldest over to his coach. I soon see my eager beaver of a child volunteers to be goalie. My heart sinks a little. From my research, goalkeeper is the hardest position to play in soccer. It requires a lot of mental focus, physical skill, and your mistakes (and victories) are evident to everyone around. I tell myself, it's going to be fine. It’s just rec soccer, and I’ve experienced encouragement from others here.

It was not fine.

He missed three shots in a row and was feeling very frustrated with himself. I could see from my position on the sideline, his teammates were giving him a hard time. One even used some colorful language. I can feel that “mama bear” rising. Now, a parent was yelling at the coach to put in a new goalie. My kid was crying, and I was also on the verge of tears for his heart. I yell over, “Shake it off! It’s ok, baby!” and he brushes me off and motions for me to sit down. So I do it, and my husband lovingly reminds me to take a deep breath. So, I do and I hear a gentle whisper, “This is your Nineveh”.

Oh, right. That’s what this was about. The game ended, and as parents, we were able to encourage and dry some tears as we moved to the next child’s game.

That evening I reflected on the Lord’s whisper, “This is your Nineveh.” Oh, man. I knew that.

When I was conversing with the Lord those few months earlier, I knew that the purpose of getting out of the church walls was to bring light to those who may be living in darkness. I also knew that the same people who weren’t kind to my kid (or my heart), needed to be shown forgiveness and kindness because that is the love of Jesus. That is the gospel. That is how the light overtakes the darkness. If Jesus died on the cross for my sins, He surely died for theirs too. This is what evangelism looks like, us mirroring the love, mercy and compassion of the Father.

A verse in the book of Jonah that makes me chuckle is Jonah 4:2:

So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.

Thank you Lord, for your mercy and compassion. For your patience and unfailing love for us! After some heart work, my oldest is in a much better spot now. He is ready to go back on the field to cheer on ALL of his teammates, and I’m so grateful that we were able to walk the gospel out together in our Ninevah.

1. Is there a place or person that might be a “Nineveh” in your life?

2. How will you choose to share the love of the Father?

-Anessa Tillett, Worthy Content Writer