The Unanswered Question
A friend asked if I wanted to make a donation to a cause he supports. It was a worthy initiative: caring for kids who had lost their parents in war. As I weighed his message, I felt nothing. I already have my causes: serving at my church, supporting a local community service project, supporting a global initiative to relieve poverty, writing Bible studies. It's okay to have limits. I can't fix every problem. But his question reminded me that my compassion only goes so far.
My grandmother told me, "If you look for the good in other people, they'll show it to you." God is looking for the good in Jonah: "You cared about the plant." Remarkable! Jonah cared about the plant because he liked being in its shade. Nevertheless, God gives Jonah credit. "You cared about the plant." Then he gives him an invaluable truth: everything about the plant was a gift. Throughout the entire story, Jonah has run away, attacked, or ignored God. But for one day, Jonah expressed delight in a small gift from God. God builds on the thinnest sliver of care that he can find in Jonah's heart. He asks, 'If you cared about a one-day plant you didn't make, can't I care about an entire city?' God shares what motivates him. He again says that Nineveh is great. Every one of the 120,000 residents matters to him. Curiously, the people put sackcloth on the animals, but now the connection is clear: God cared about them. So, it was appropriate for the people to offer not only themselves but also their animals to God. It's hard to like Jonah. He runs away from God, endangers sailors, prays for his own benefit, barely preaches, rages at repentance, rages at God, asks to die three times, and only rejoices over a plant. I want to give up on him. Jonah's danger is feeling contempt for Nineveh. Our danger is feeling contempt for Jonah. The story is teaching us to have compassion for unexpected people. We're surprised to see sailors worshiping and animals wearing sackcloth. Out of everyone in the story, Jonah least deserves to keep hearing from God. He knows the most and behaves the worst. But God still asks him questions. He never says, "I'm done with you." We don't know how Jonah answered God's final question. We know that God offered him mercy, but not whether he accepted it. Maybe he repented. Maybe he stayed angry. If we needed the theological answer, Jonah already told us that "Salvation belongs to the LORD." But instead, we're left with a question.
What do you learn about God from his care for Nineveh and for Jonah?
Who has God given you unexpected compassion for?
Who is included in God's care but beyond your own compassion?
As we conclude the book of Jonah, talk with a friend about the question the story can't resolve: Has God's mercy made us merciful?