We all know the story from the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament. Jonah was the prophet who was asked by God to go to the city of Nineveh and preach to them so that they turn away from their wickedness. But Jonah was against God's plan as he did not think the Assyrian Gentile city was worth preaching to and he ran away instead to Tarshish on a ship. While at sea, he was thrown into the sea to calm the storm when the others in the ship discovered that Jonah was running away from God in disobedience.
God provided for a whale to swallow him and vomit him on the shore after 3 days. God again commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh and this time Jonah obeyed albeit reluctantly. The city of Nineveh repented on Jonah's preaching and they were saved from God's anger. However, Jonah was angry with God. He could not understand why God had saved the people of Nineveh, who were Assyrians and a powerful kingdom that could rise against Israel. In order to make Jonah understand, God provided a vine to provide shade for Jonah but a worm ate the whole vine the next day and Jonah was very concerned and angry about the vine. Here is what God told Jonah in response:
Jonah 4:10-11
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
Sometimes we can be very self-righteous and inward looking, focussing on our own little "vines", our small world around us. However, God's focus is always bigger and His heart beats for everyone, especially the lost. Notice in the verse below the focus on the lost.
II Timothy 2:24-26
And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
What is the condition of your heart? Are you worried about only what concerns you or does your heart feel for the millions who are lost and dying in this world? It is very easy to condemn but it is more needful to rescue. Let us not get caught up in our own righteousness and fail to see the lost and dying world around us.
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