The Value of Souls Versus One's Reputation

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

The Value of Souls Versus One's Reputation

Today's Text: Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. Jonah 1:2

The Message:      When the people of Nineveh humbled themselves before God, and cried to Him for mercy, He heard their cry. "God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not."      But Jonah revealed that he did not value the souls in that wretched city. He valued his reputation, lest they should say he was a false prophet.... Now when he sees the Lord exercise His compassionate attributes and spare the city that had corrupted its ways before Him, Jonah does not co-operate with God in His merciful design. He has not the people's interests in view. It does not grieve him that so large a number must perish who have not been educated to do right. Listen to his complaint:      "Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry? So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd."      Then the Lord gave Jonah an object lesson. He "prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live."... "Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"      In the history of Nineveh there is a lesson that you should study carefully.... You must know your duty to your fellow beings who are ignorant and defiled, and who need your help.-Manuscript 164, 1897.

Commentary: My friend, the lesson that we have from Jonah's attitude towards those who are lost in sin is that God is a merciful God and does not want to destroy the wicked.  If the wicked will turn from their ways He will withhold His judgments upon them.  The people of Nineveh did not have the opportunity to know the One true God as Jonah did, but when Jonah brought them the warning from God they responded with true repentance, and when God stayed His judgment upon them, Jonah was not pleased.  He was more concerned about himself and his reputation than the mercy God showed to the people. The same is true today, there are many in the SDA church that have the same attitude as did Jonah.  They are more concerned about their lives and their reputations rather than for the salvation of souls.  They do have the love of God within their hearts and as such do not have the same sympathy for souls as did Christ.  Jonah was blessed with the oracles of truth and was even blessed with a closer revelation of the will of God than others, yet it did not work a decided change within his heart.  He had a form of godliness but he denied the power of God to soften his heart to seek and to save the lost. Had Jonah then presented the love of God to them while their hearts were softened and ready to receive it, what a great revival would have taken place in Nineveh.  Rather than being an enemy of the people of God, they may have become allies and followers of the One true God rather than an adversary of the people.  The city was eventually destroyed because the sin that was checked was not replaced with righteousness, for they did not have anyone to teach them the way of truth.  This all because Jonah was more concerned about himself then the salvation of 180,000 people. My friend, it should be the great aim of all those who are followers of Christ to seek and to save those who are lost in their sins.  This is the duty of all that claim the name of Jesus.  If the desire to reach those who are lost in their sins is not present in your life, then Christ is not truly living with in you.  It's time to seek the Lord while He may be found.  Seek after Him through His word as for hidden treasure.  Spend time with Him in prayer and commune with Him throughout the day.  The promise to us today is this "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13). May we all seek after Him today. God bless,

Video of the Week The Unknown God - Nader Mansour When Paul preached in Athens he revealed the unknown God as the Father. This story contains important insights into what is going on today. Nader Mansour examines these parallels. Presented in Melbourne, January 2018.