Mercy is Still a Must
The Dove Speaks

Scripture Reading: Jonah 4:9-11

Key Verses: Jonah 4:1-2
But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. “

As I mentioned earlier in this devotional, Jonah’s name means “dove.”

The dove has always been the symbol of peace and hope. When Noah sent out a dove for the second time to see if there was dry land, the dove came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf. It was the sign they needed to know that God had not forgotten them. When John baptized Jesus, the Spirit of God came to Him “like a dove.”

The message of Jonah was a message of hope for people who are far from God. This “dove of hope” preached to sinners that, if they would repent of their sins, God would show them mercy and redeem their lives. Just think, in heaven today are many hundreds of Assyrians who once covered their furniture with human skins. They that built pyramids with human skulls, now walk the streets of heaven because they received Jonah’s message!

Is that okay with you? Are you willing to spend eternity with sinners who turned to God’s message of hope? Remember, some of them will be murderers, prostitutes, drug addicts, child molesters, and all kinds of disgusting behaviors. If they are in heaven, it is because they repented of the behavior and turned to the mercy of God!

The dove of hope still speaks today. You may be the “dove” to someone who is far from God. Are you willing? Will you run from your assignment or be an instrument of grace?

Father, I choose for You to use me to love people — all people. Direct my life and use it to Your glory. In Jesus’s Name, amen.