The attractive folder slipped from the bundle I pulled from the mail box. I reached down to pick it up. It was a missions conference brochure. In big bold letters the cover read, “Who Cares?” Now that is a good question, I thought to myself. Who cares?

Who cares about the billions of this world who have no knowledge of our Lord? Who cares about the kid in tattered rags on the streets of Bombay? Who cares about the drug addict curled up in a dark alley of Caracas?

The Book of Jonah gives the answer. This is not a “tale of a whale” or a “whale of a tale.” The main point of the book is found in the concluding chapters.

God gave Jonah a second chance and this time he obeyed. Jonah preached in the wicked city of Nineveh. The entire city repented and God spared them from the judgment they deserved. But instead of rejoicing, Jonah was angry. In the heat of his anger, Jonah was blessed with the shade of a plant that all too quickly was removed. Jonah was furious.

The key point of the book is found in the Lord’s closing comments to Jonah, “You had compassion on the plant. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh?” (See 4:10.) God cares!

A question: Do you have greater concern about your own welfare than you do for the needs of lost people? It is so easy to lose perspective. Pray right now that God will give you more of His compassion. Be one who cares.