Radical Muslims and similar religions would force their system upon the world if they could. And, while all systems of belief desire that all people embrace their faith, what is the motivation? Is it about control, or compassion?
The prophet Jonah was given a message to share with the ancient city of Nineveh regarding impending judgment and destruction. Much to his dismay, the king and all the city repented and averted disaster.
God provided Jonah with a simple object lesson to demonstrate His compassion for these repentant people. As Jonah sat at a distance from the city, anticipating God's imminent judgment, "the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered." (Jonah 4:6-7). Jonah became extremely distraught over the destruction of the plant, which had provided him with shade. Jonah's feelings for this inanimate plant allowed God to drive home an important point about His compassion:
"You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals ?" (Jonah 4:10-11)
God, the Creator, has a vested interest in His creation. He has compassion on that which He has carefully worked to create. His heart is for their welfare. And, as with Jonah, He desires that His people have the same compassion for all people.
Here is where the story of Jonah gets intensely personal for us: do we have the compassion of God for others that Jonah lacked? Do we desire the growth of our church and faith because that would somehow justify our belief, or because we deeply desire the salvation of others? Bottom line: do we compassionately care about the true welfare of other people?
It is an absolute truth: every person we encounter today will either be in the kingdom of God one day or they will not. Every person is either lost or saved. But, do I truly care? Is my heart filled with the compassion of my Creator, or am I distantly apathetic to their true condition? Such questions stir my heart as I write, because I find too much of a kindred spirit with Jonah.
May the God of compassion fill our hearts with compassion that moves us to do something today about lost souls.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
The prophet Jonah was given a message to share with the ancient city of Nineveh regarding impending judgment and destruction. Much to his dismay, the king and all the city repented and averted disaster.
God provided Jonah with a simple object lesson to demonstrate His compassion for these repentant people. As Jonah sat at a distance from the city, anticipating God's imminent judgment, "the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered." (Jonah 4:6-7). Jonah became extremely distraught over the destruction of the plant, which had provided him with shade. Jonah's feelings for this inanimate plant allowed God to drive home an important point about His compassion:
"You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals ?" (Jonah 4:10-11)
God, the Creator, has a vested interest in His creation. He has compassion on that which He has carefully worked to create. His heart is for their welfare. And, as with Jonah, He desires that His people have the same compassion for all people.
Here is where the story of Jonah gets intensely personal for us: do we have the compassion of God for others that Jonah lacked? Do we desire the growth of our church and faith because that would somehow justify our belief, or because we deeply desire the salvation of others? Bottom line: do we compassionately care about the true welfare of other people?
It is an absolute truth: every person we encounter today will either be in the kingdom of God one day or they will not. Every person is either lost or saved. But, do I truly care? Is my heart filled with the compassion of my Creator, or am I distantly apathetic to their true condition? Such questions stir my heart as I write, because I find too much of a kindred spirit with Jonah.
May the God of compassion fill our hearts with compassion that moves us to do something today about lost souls.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
posted by steve @ 7:34 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home