A few weeks ago during my Bible study time, I was reading in the book of Jonah. If you grew up in church, you are probably familiar with the story of Jonah who tried to run away from God and ended up in the belly of a large fish. Jonah did not want to preach repentance in the evil city of Nineveh—he had a deep-seated prejudice against the people there. Because of this prejudice, Jonah honestly didn’t want them to have the opportunity to turn to God; he wanted them to be destroyed.

During the three days he spent inside the gross fish stomach, Jonah honestly sought the Lord. In chapter 2, we read his very personal prayer where he lays bare all of his fears and doubts. At the same time, Jonah acknowledges God’s hand on his life and surrenders to the His will. After the fish throws him up on the beach, Jonah runs as fast as he can to Nineveh. The people of that city repent of their sins and are saved from destruction.

However, that’s not the end. The book closes with Jonah being angry at God’s compassion toward the Ninevites. Jonah shouts at God: “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (4:2b) The irony is that throughout Jonah’s disobedience, God continually extended His incomprehensible compassion to him. The last verse in the book is God telling Jonah why He wanted Nineveh (and all people) to repent and turn to Him: “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 with that great city?” (4:11)

Jonah’s story is not much different from mine. There have been people with whom I have deliberately not shared what Christ has done in my life out of fear and sometimes embarrassment or shame. But by keeping the redemptive power of Christ to myself, I have, in effect, acted as if some people don’t deserve to know Truth. What a sobering thought!

God told Jonah and reminds me that He cares about everyone in the world. After all, He created each one of us in His own image and He desires for us to lay aside our sinful natures and accept His grace and mercy. Romans 3:23 tells us “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” None of us are worthy of the gift of salvation—yet Christ offers it freely! Our requirement is obedience to what He is calling us to do. It is through obedience to God that we find freedom.

May God give me the boldness to share His love with those with whom I come in contact—be it in the park, at the grocery store, in the restaurant, at church, or wherever!