‌Last week we saw an incredible promise: God will go to the ends of the earth to bring his children back to His love and goodness. Today as Jonah interacts with unbelieving Gentiles, God shows us that He cares about how we relate to and treat people who are different from us.

‌If you missed the previous messages, you can find them on our website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. There are also QR codes for these links in your bulletin. 

‌These unbelieving pagans were not narrow-minded. They were not bigoted and prejudiced against their Jewish passenger. They didn’t blame him or disrespect his god even when Jonah later tells them to through him into the sea. These sailors are making Jonah look even worse by working together for the common good.

‌Jonah, a prophet of the true God, didn’t care about the people of Nineveh and now he doesn’t care about the captain and crew of the ship. The same storm was impacting all of them. They are in the same boat together. When the whole world faced COVID together, did Christians care for and love unbelievers who were without hope for the future? There was lots of blame for China and others.

‌Jesus answered with the story of the good Samaritan. A man who didn’t just put up a yard sign saying “we love and accept everyone” but he sacrificially gave his time, his comfort, his money, his reputation, and even future unknown expense to care for a Jewish man in need. This was the kind of person, many of us would also have avoided – laying in the gutter, beat up, half dressed and half dead. Jesus was teaching that showing mercy to anyone we encounter is the right way to love our neighbors.

‌Jonah was a bad prophet and an even worse neighbor. He did nothing to care for the men on the ship with him. He didn’t speak to them. He ignored them and the dire storm they were facing. He went to sleep! He showed no concern for their common good and he took the common grace he experienced completed for granted.

‌Don’t be like Jonah! Look for occasions to demonstrate God’s love and mercy to your neighbors. That’s everyone God brings into your path. If you were not here a few years ago, go back and find the Art of Neighboring sermon series. I will put a link in today’s message too. In your bulletin there is a neighborhood map. Hang this on your fridge and add the names of your immediate neighbors. My daughter Grace called a week ago, so excited that she was stepping out of her comfort zone and meeting her new neighbors.

‌As you learn the names of your neighbors, begin to pray for them and for opportunities to show them God’s love. Now that it’s Spring, there are more chances of running into them. Get your kids in on it too! They are often bolder than mom and dad.

‌Do you see yourself as a sinner in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness? Have you repented of your sin and accepted God’s forgiveness and salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus? Jesus said come to me with all your burdens and worries because I care about you. You can come up to the front rows during our last song and I will pray with you.

‌Do you know your neighbors? Do you love them? Do they know that? Can they see it in your actions? Your faith is alive and active when you show the people around you the mercy, grace, compassion, forgiveness, and love God shows you. Take the map home with you and see how many people you already know. See how many more you can add. Pray for greater love for the lost, for your neighbors, for the people who are different from you. And start loving them in the name of Jesus Christ.