Jonah eventually obeyed God, traveled to Nineveh, and warned them that God would destroy them and their city if they didn’t repent of their evil ways.  Although Jonah obeyed, his heart wasn’t in it; he still wanted the people of Nineveh to be beyond God’s love and redemption.  Jonah refused to see that, like himself, the people of Nineveh were created in God’s image.

To Jonah, God’s refusal to destroy Nineveh seemed not just wrong, but “very wrong”.  What Jonah forgot, and what we often forget, is that we don’t get to judge what’s right and we miss so many opportunities to introduce others to God.  Jonah missed the greatest calling of his life: everyone in Nineveh, from pauper to king, repented and called on the name of God.  But instead of taking advantage of the city’s repentance and teaching them of God’s ways, Jonah sat on a hill and wished for his own death because he didn’t want to live knowing that God loved his enemies.  How might history have changed had Jonah only loved those who God loved and cheerfully done what he was called to do.  It’s too late for Jonah to change the world, but it’s not too late for us.