Re:Verse reading–Jonah 1:1-3, 3:1-5, 4:1-11 (day six)
Fear is not all bad. After all the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We know why Jonah fled, he fled because he wanted nothing to do with God’s mercy towards the Ninevites. His lack of fear of the Lord produced a hardened compassion-less heart; he was much more concerned with his own comfort than the desperate need of an entire people.
So fear is not all bad. Fear the Lord, for it is not only the beginning of wisdom but the also the beginning of faith. It is there that we taste the goodness of God, his mercy and compassion through Jesus, each day moving us further away from self-centeredness to selflessness. We can’t help but love the Ninevites.
