Scripture: “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow… And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people?” — Jonah 4:10–11
Today’s Devotional
I still remember walking through a crowded street in a foreign city for the first time—thousands of faces passing by, each with their own story. I felt small and insignificant. How could God possibly love all these people?
Jonah wrestled with that same question. Sent by God to warn Nineveh—a violent, enemy city—he couldn’t understand how the Lord could care for people so cruel. When the Ninevites repented and God spared them, Jonah grew furious. He wanted justice, not mercy.
But God used a simple plant to teach Jonah about His heart. When the plant died, Jonah grieved his lost shade—yet he couldn’t grieve for a city full of lost souls. God’s gentle question exposed the prophet’s narrow compassion: “You cared about the plant… shouldn’t I care about this city?”
God’s love reaches further than our comfort zones. He doesn’t divide the world into “us” and “them.” The same love that saved Jonah from the sea reached out to save his enemies. That’s the power of divine compassion—it extends even to those we find hardest to love.
When we see people through God’s eyes, the walls of resentment and pride begin to fall. His love isn’t limited by our preferences—it overflows to all creation.
Reflect & Pray
Reflect:
Who are the “Ninevites” in your life—people you find hard to forgive or understand?
How might God be inviting you to love them with His compassion instead of your judgment?
Pray:
Loving Father, thank You for loving me even when I didn’t deserve it.
Teach me to see others through Your eyes and to reflect Your grace wherever I go.
Today’s Insight
Jonah’s anger revealed how easily we can accept God’s mercy for ourselves but resist it for others. The book ends with God’s open question—an invitation for every reader to share His heart for all people, not just those like us.
