#203 - A Lesson in Divine Compassion - Jonah 3-4

In part 2 of this 2-part series from Jonah, we see more than the usual Sunday school story of a fish that swallows a man. We see a picture of Israel and their neglect to use their blessings and privileges to reach the Gentiles with God's love and grace. God emerges as the main Actor in the story from beginning to end. Jonah pictures a self-serving callousness to the needs of other people not his own. Could his experience in the fish and at the bottom of the sea remind us of what it is like to be hopelessly separated from the love of God? But Jonah finds the grace of God even there and realizes salvation is God's prerogative, not ours. Can we identify with a calloused uncaring heart? Are we living in disobedience as a church or a believer? Do we care about people as much as God does?