The Spirit of Jonah

Jonah 4:11
¹¹ 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?

Have you ever found it hard to have compassion for your enemies? Our heavenly Father is one with a heart of compassion. God does not delight in the destruction of others. He would actually prefer to warn and give one time to make things right.  Jonah was a prophet who did not show love and concern even for his enemies. Jonah's anger toward the Ninevites stood in the way of his obedience in delivering a message from God. Though he went through with the assignment, it was done without love for his enemies. He only completed the assignment after God demonstrated Jonah's inability to run from him. The highlight of Jonah's feelings was illustrated at the end of the story when Jonah took more concern for a vine that God grew and withered in one day than he did for the people of Nineveh.  How could one not be concerned that a whole city might perish? Jonah's focus was on what the Ninevites had done to Israel.

We are called to love our enemies. Though it's difficult to do when one has felt scarred, it"s when we love our enemies that God's love and compassion is truly demonstrated. God's mission is larger than us. Our wounds are actually for the purpose of growth and helping others who are going to walk the waters of pain behind us. Not having compassion on those that have harmed us doesn't make us any better than those that initiated the hurt. It is then that we perpetuate the spirit of Jonah. Jesus said that we could not lay an offering down before God knowing that we have something against someone. The apostle Paul said that we cannot claim to love God yet hate our brother. Hatred like that of Jonah's deviates from God's message.