Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:44-45

JONAH was furious that God forgave Israel’s enemies, the Ninevites, when they repented. His bitterness kept him in the blistering sun for 40 days as he watched the city, hoping God would exchange mercy for wrath. How could Jonah resent the Ninevites that much? Then I recalled a time when I worked with a seasoned officer I will call “Jack.” Jack constantly yelled at the rest of us, using foul language to insult our intelligence and skills. Not only that, the shift shared an assignment at times; and sometimes Jack would come in from a night of drinking and snack on the food we had bought for ourselves.  After reading Matthew 5:44-45, I decided to pray for God to save Jack, but my heart wasn’t in it. Years after I left that job, I met a man from Jack’s hometown and asked about Jack. The man informed me that Jack was a pastor in that town. I was shocked and, deep down, a little disappointed. Where’s the justice in that? I thought. Like Jonah, I knew that we serve a God of compassion, and I had feared that my half-hearted prayer would be answered. I’ve since thanked God for showing compassion to Jack because it’s the same compassion God has granted to me.