JONAH

The city of Nineveh was wicked from rooftop to footpath. The Lord called to Jonah, a prophet. "Go to Nineveh. Warn them that I have seen their wickedness, and tell them to repent."

Jonah hated the Ninevites. "They deserve to be punished," he grumbled, and instead of going to Nineveh, he got on a ship sailing to Tarshish.

He fell asleep on the boat and did not wake up until someone shook him.

"How can you sleep in this storm?" the sailor demanded. "Wake up and pray to your God. If the storm does not stop, we'll all drown!"

"I think we should find out whose fault this storm is," said another sailor. The sailors cast lots - and the lot fell to Jonah!

"Who are you?" the sailor demanded.

"I am Hebrew. I worship the Lord, but I have tried to run away from him. If you want to save your ship, throw me in the water," he told them.

"But you will die!" The sailors kept trying to row back to the land, but the storm grew worse. Then they knew what they must do. "Lord, please don't punish us for killing this man," they said, and with a splash, Jonah was in the water and the sea became calm.

But God did not let Jonah drown. A big fish swallowed him, and he stayed inside the fish's belly for three days and nights. Jonah thanked God for the fish sent to keep him safe. Then God caused the fish to spit out Jonah on the shore.

"Jonah, go to Nineveh and give the people a message from me!" God told him once more. And this time he listened. He told the people in Nineveh that if they did not repent, they would be destroyed. They repented! Jonah was furious!

"How can you forgive these terrible people, God?" Jonah asked.

"Nineveh is a large city, filled with people who cannot tell right from wrong without my help," God said. "Shouldn't I care about them, too?"

SIN runs rampant in society - daily headlines and overflowing prisons bear dramatic witness to that fact. With child abuse, pornography, serial killing, terrorism, and ruthless dictatorships,the world seems to be filled to overflowing with violence, hatred, and corruption. Reading, hearing, and perhaps even experiencing these tragedies, we begin to understand the necessity of God's judgement. We may even find ourselves wishing for vengeance by any means upon the perpetrators. Surely they are beyond redemption! But suppose that in the midst of such thoughts, God told you to take the gospel to the worst of the offenders - how would you respond?

Jonah was given such a task. Assyria - a great but evil empire - was Israel's most dreaded enemy. The Assyrians flaunted their power before God and the world through numerous acts of heartless cruelty. So when Jonah heard God tell him to go to Assyria and call the people to repentance, he ran in the opposite direction.

No one deserved God's favor less than the people of Nineveh, Assyria's capital. Jonah knew this. But he knew that God would forgive and bless them if they would turn from their sin and worship him. Jonah also knew the power of God's message, that even through his own weak preaching, they would respond and be spared God's judgment.

We need to open our hearts to God's love and compassion and realize that no one is beyond redemption. The Gospel is for all who repent and believe.

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