Who Do You Want God To Love?
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. -- Jonah 4:1-2
We all know the story of Jonah. He was a prophet who fled the calling of the LORD rather than preach to the people of Ninevah. Why? Because he knew they would repent and God would forgive them. Which is exactly what happened.
Why don’t we always share the gospel with everyone we know? Why do we tend to keep it to people who are “like” us? Are we trying -- in a passive aggressive kind of way -- to determine who ends up in heaven and who doesn’t?
Maybe you haven’t thought about it quite that way. It’s just uncomfortable to talk to people who aren’t exactly like us. We’d rather stay within our church building boundaries and focus on the people we know. Except they probably aren’t the ones who need Jesus the most because, hopefully, they already known Him.
Jonah didn’t think the people of Ninevah deserved to be forgiven. Do any of us? Really? The sentence for sin is death. It is only the blood of Jesus and our belief in Him that saves any of us. Who are we to say that we somehow in our sin are more worthy of salvation that someone else? But isn’t that what we do every time we turn away from someone who needs to hear about Jesus?
Would you share God’s love with someone who worked in a bar and got drunk every night? Would you share God’s love with someone in prison? Would you share God’s love with an unwed mother? Would you share God’s love with someone who has never held a “real” job? I could go on and on.
We are so quick to judge; not so quick to forgive. Yet God wants everyone -- regardless of their type of sin -- to come to know Jesus and be saved. In Jonah’s day the Jewish people didn’t want the Gentiles to know God. I am so very thankful that God had a different plan. How about you?
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