Have you ever wished harm upon someone that you considered to be your enemy? When the call of God came to Jonah to take a message of mercy to the Assyrians, Jonah couldn’t see beyond his own selfish desire for God to punish them. How could God want him to take a message of mercy to such people?
Before Jonah could relay God’s message, he had to be broken.
He had to learn about the mercy of God himself. Through running away to Tarshish, his shipwreck, and a few days in the belly of a whale, Jonah was convinced in a powerful way that all salvation comes from the Lord and because of God’s infinite power, only God decides where to pour out His salvation and mercy.
This is a huge challenge to all of us to care about the salvation of others, even those who aren’t like us, even those we perceive to be our enemies.
God gives second chances to… everyone.