The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach
against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ( Jonah 1-4 NIV)
We hear about strangers every day. We see them in the news, under overpasses, passing through streets littered with bars and prostitutes. We see the obvious sin ravaging our cities. Some of us join community service projects. We take large steps to evangelize to those in need. And these are indeed services that our communities need us to take part in.
But what about people who are not strangers? What about our closest friends and relatives? We all have friends and family that are not saved or are living luke warm. Are we ministering to them or are we afraid to offend them? Are we afraid to get out of our comfort zone with them? Do we believe they deserve their punishment for what ever they do? Do we hold resentment for some of the people we say we love?
We should all think unashamedly and inwardly about ourselves and why our pursuit to save those closest to us is not as fervent as our pursuit to save strangers.
It's funny how sometimes the people you say "I love you" to the most, can be the ones we resent. There are so many different reasons we may harbor resentment -- jealousy, anger, unforgiveness, and distrust. These feelings can often keep us from truly wanting to see the people we say we love be blessed. This may be a touchy subject because no one wants to admit that they aren't truly wishing the best for someone else. We don't want to admit that inside we are bitter and holding back true agape love for them. We may be holding back so much that we cringe at seeing them blessed before we are. Are there people you would rather see fall than be saved?
God told Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh who had fallen away from Him and warn them that God would destroy them. Jonah refused because he knew that once he warned the people of Nineveh they would turn from their evil ways and God would bless them. Jonah did not want God to have mercy on them. He resented them because of their sin.
Are we choosing the route of Jonah? Are we choosing mercy for those things that us comfortable more than those people who we say we love? It was often funny to me in college to see how quickly I could forgive a boy who cheated, but forever hold anger in my heart for a best friend who betrayed my trust but apologized sincerely. It's even baffling how we forgive our best friends for ditching us for someone else, but never forgive our parents when they don't show up for important events.How do we choose our standards of who gets our mercy? And are we inevitably giving God standards for who He should show mercy to? Maybe sharing the gospel to strangers who we will never have to see again is easier than sharing it with the people we say we love.
God wants to show mercy to everyone. It's not our choice. It's his. Deal with the deap rooted feelings within you that may be keeping you from sharing the best of God with everyone God calls you to.
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