In the final chapter of Jonah, the prophet is huffing and puffing because God had stayed the hand of judgment on a people (the Ninevites) that he thought should have been punished.
Let us learn from this stubborn prophet that God’s love is for the entire world. Our prayer each day should be for those who are lost. Instead of huffing and puffing about how we think God should be running the universe, let us submit our wills to God’s and ask to be used to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus. God calls us not to judge others but to love them. When we personally experience God’s great mercy and compassion as the Ninevites did, we can share that grace with others. May God use these lessons from Jonah to help us hear and obey the call as we go out into the world.
This message is excerpted from “Called to obey God,” a 2002 Women of the ELCA resource, written by Cynthia E. Cowen.
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