MINISTERING

Have you ever wondered why the two greatest commandments are to first to love God and second to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40)? It is obvious that we need to love God so that this love would motivate us to obey his commandments and thus set ourselves on the course to eternal life. It is equally obvious that we need to love others so that we could become like Christ, once again to set us on the course to eternal life. There is a good reason however why these two commandments stand side by side. Consider President Benson's take on this: "The world largely ignores the first and great commandment - to love God - but talks a lot about loving their brother....But only those who know and love God can best love and serve his children, for only God fully understands his children and knows what is best for their welfare. Therefore, one needs to be in tune with God to best help his children...If you desire to help your fellowmen the most, then you must put the first commandment first. When we fail to put the love of God first, we are easily deceived by crafty men who profess a great love of humanity" (Ezra Taft Benson, CR Oct 1967, p 35)

We live in a world of political correctness where the philosophy of kindness has replaced the importance of religion and a God centered life. One such example is the teachings of Dalai Lama whose popularity and influence has grown exponentially over the recent years:
"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." (Dalai Lama)
It is not my wish to disparage any religion here but rather to elevate the importance of placing God in our lives first so that we can better serve and love one another. Kindness is well and good and obviously necessary but it is not the tool by which we can help change lives and alleviate someone's suffering by bringing them to the fountain of all healing which is Christ. Kindness is just the beginning.

I noticed through my years of being a single mother that I and the other single mothers I have known have had a different response to the same situation we found ourselves in. Why is that? Because we are all unique with different capabilities, understanding and strengths of character. Well did Dr Seus say that 'there is no one youer than you'. From this period of my life I have concluded that nobody can support and sustain me better than God Himself. And here is the important part of this. God the Father understands and knows us best not only because He knew us long before we were embodied in mortality but because of the Atonement of His Son who has felt, experienced and gained first hand insight into every being that has ever lived and ever will walk the face of this earth. I had a priesthood blessing recently in which I was told that the Father knew all that I was experiencing in my present situation because the Saviour Himself has told Him so. This is a pretty powerful foundation for one's faith in God and his watchful providence.

If we want to be under-shepherds ministering to one another as the Saviour himself would do, we need to pay close attention to what He has to tell us about those that we serve. For one simple reason: there is no depths of pain that He hasn't suffered; there is no extent of sorrow that He hasn't felt; there is no degree of difficulty that He hasn't experienced. The depths of all human suffering is known to Him and Him alone. He is the Healer, He is the Rescuer, He is the Balm of Gilead.

WITHOUT A CAUSE

Some years ago I was travelling in my car through the streets of my neighbourhood when a car came suddenly from the street on my right and pulled in right in front of me risking a collision. The incident shook me to my core. My shock quickly escalated into intense anger. The anger reached a crescendo when I noticed that the driver of the vehicle in question was an Asian woman. I could not just let this go by. I am ashamed to say that I chased this woman through the streets of my neighbourhood with intense rage attempting to force her to stop her vehicle so I could heap upon her the full force of my indignation. I could tell the woman was frightened but I was a woman driven by a cause. The cause being that she was negligent and callous rather than that she made a mistake through wrongful judgment. Why didn't I see her actions as a bad call in judgment? Because my anger was fueled by simmering racism. Those close to me back then knew that I was intolerant of the driving skills of Asian people and their seeming unwillingness to assimilate into the Australian culture. I did not see this race of people as fellow citizens of my country but as 'Asians'. This incident has stood out as one of the most un-Christlike acts of behaviour of my life. Not my finest moment....

I have read the Sermon on the Mount many times during my spiritual journey through the scriptures. Each time I have read this sermon I have noticed different things but never before had I noticed the severity of Christ's admonition that I think is the hardest for many of us to live. When the Saviour taught the Sermon on the Mount to the ancient Americas he said this: "But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment. And whosever shall say to his brother Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire" (3 Nephi 12:22). 'Hell fire'??? For considering someone a fool??? On that shameful day that I chased a poor Asian woman through the streets of my neighbourhood I was certainly at risk of 'hell fire'. Here is why: what I never noticed before is that this scripture varies slightly to the one in Matthew 5:22 where the Sermon was delivered to the Jews, which reads: "....whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause....". This difference in directive makes all the difference. JST omits the phrase 'without a cause' as the earliest known manuscript for Matthew 5:22 does not contain that phrase (see Daniel K. Judd and Allen W. Stoddard in How the New Testament Came to Be, p 161). Why would this tiny phrase make all the difference?

To understand this it is important to understand the historical background of the Sermon on the Mount and to know to whom exactly it was given. Beside the city of Capernaum there is a mount where Jesus delivered the lengthiest discourse recorded in the entire Bible and which covers chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew. As great multitudes of people followed Him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea and even beyond Jordan, Jesus ascended the mount leaving the ease of valley travel and leaving behind those who followed Him for cures only, ensuring that only the most loyal of his disciples would follow. And so it came to be that, contrary to popular belief, Jesus did not deliver his most famous sermon to multitudes but only to His disciples (Matthew 5:1) who were no doubt already baptised and had taken upon themselves His name. Taking the disciples to the heights of the mount symbolised higher expectations and commitment of the truly converted.  Those who made the upward journey were willing and prepared to live the higher law leading to exaltation. In ancient Americas, the sermon was delivered by Christ to the 'more righteous' who were spared the destruction of many cities following His death. These people believed and looked forward to His coming. They were ready and willing to embrace His teachings and covenants. From these two groups of people we can surmise that the Sermon on the Mount contains the higher law, the obedience to which is expected of the true disciples of Christ.

What the Saviour was actually saying in the Sermon on the Mount to His loyal followers, is that they should not get angry with their brother no matter what, not even when there is a cause; that they should not consider anyone a fool for their actions, behaviour or the way they are. Why is that? Because we do not know people's hearts. We do not understand their frame of reference, their weaknesses, the complexity of their lives or their true intents. On that fateful day that I allowed my rage to run loose I was driven by a cause, not by a possibility that the driver of the other car might have been distraught, worried, distressed or even lacking faith in her abilities. In this context, when one acts with a cause, one acts with selfishness. They are more concerned about themselves than their fellowman. This selfishness leads to absence of love, mercy, goodwill and lack of kindness. We see an example of this with the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon. Their lack of consideration, kindness and love for one another towards the end of their civilization became so acute that they could not hold onto their possessions. If a man laid down his tool or his sword upon his shelf, in the morning it would be gone (Ether 14:1). Imagine living like this: "Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with his hands and would not borrow, neither would he lend; and every man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his property and his own life and his wives and children" (Ether 14:2).

On March 7, 1831, Joseph Smith was given a revelation in which he was told of the condition of the world prior to the Saviour's coming. Amidst all the turmoil, wars and commotion we are told that "men's hearts shall fail them" and "the love of men shall wax cold" (D&C 45:26,27). Describing the perilous times of the last days, Apostle Paul described men as 'lovers of their own selves....without natural affection'  (2 Timothy 3:1-3). When we are lovers of our own selves, we can hardly be lovers of others and when we have no natural affection, we have no kindness. We can see the lack of kindness in our society on the roads, in supermarket queues, during telemarketing calls and the love of many waxing cold through jealousies, gossip, ill will,  murder, theft, uncaring and selfishness. One trembles at the thought that we might become like the Jaredites in the last minute of the last hour of this dispensation.

Of course we also have in our day and age great examples of people who do unselfish deeds. My heart leaps when I hear of an individual who sacrifices themselves for the good of others: a retired man who spends his days on a notorious bridge savings those who would suicide; a fashion designer who sold everything she had including her profitable business and opened an orphanage in Indonesia where she now lives; a woman who works with the police to give discarded, dead babies a proper funeral and burial in her home town. These are just some among many inspiring people who perpetuate the positive energy of human kindness and good will that are the saving grace of this planet. These are the unsung heroes to whom the welfare of others matters greatly. At times, it matters to them more than their own well being as is evident in the following story:

"A year ago last winter [1981], a modern jetliner faltered after takeoff and plunged into the icy Potomac River. Acts of bravery and feats of heroism were in evidence that day, the most dramatic of which was one witnessed by the pilot of a rescue helicopter. The rescue rope was lowered to a struggling survivor. Rather than grasping the lifeline to safety, the man tied the line to another, who was then lifted to safety. The rope was lowered again, and yet another was saved. Five were rescued from the icy waters. Among them was not found the anonymous hero. Unknown by name, 'he left the vivid air signed with his honor" (Stephen Spender, 'I Think Continually of Those -' in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, p 291).

When we come to want for others what we want for ourselves we will be considered true Christians and disciples of Christ. It is then that we will be following in His footsteps. He is the perfect example because He wanted for us what He himself had, an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. For this He performed the greatest act of benevolence known to man. For this He stands on the bridge with the suicides. For this He feeds the children at the orphanage. For this He buries discarded babies. For this He never ever considers even one of us a 'fool'.  The unsung heroes mentioned are extreme examples of kindness, love and mercy. We who have Christ's perfect example and who have committed to live the higher law as delivered by Him have no excuse not to be merciful, kind and loving. It is not everyone's path to spend their days saving the suicides or burying discarded babies but it is everyone's duty to love, cherish and help another without a cause.

A LOVE SO PURE

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."  

(1 Corinthians 13:7)

In Paul's attempt to bring the Corinthian saints closer to Christ and His character which He hoped they would emulate, he delivered the most poetic and inspiring discourse on the attribute of charity, a quality without which according to Paul we are nothing.  Understanding the nature of charity makes sense of this statement. It is crucial that we know and understand what charity is not to fully understand what it truly is. Charity is not acts of kindness for Paul states that even giving all our possessions to the poor is possible without possessing charity. He goes on to say that it is possible to even speak with the tongue of angels and prophesy without charity and no doubt do many things which would make us appear good to others and which could be acts born from selfish and wrongful desires. Likewise, long suffering, absence of envy, lack of pride, good behaviour, righteousness, faith, hope and rejoicing in truth that Paul also speaks of are not really charity but rather products of it and evidences that a person possesses this quality.  Charity therefore is an outward expression of the inner state of our hearts. Rather than alms or deeds, charity is the motive, the pure motive which prompts or inspires the acts of good will.

Moroni teaches us that charity is the pure love of Christ (Moroni 7:47) without which we cannot become like the Saviour. Why the emphasis on 'pure'? Why not just 'the love of Christ' which inspires men to do good? Christ's love is pure because it is free of any ulterior motives or hidden agendas. Christ's only desire is to bring each one of us to His own station of perfection, glory, power and dominion (Larry Keeler, I Do Always Those Things That Please Him, p 2). When He said 'here am I, send me' (Abraham 3:27) He asked for nothing but glory for the Father, unlike Lucifer who wanted the glory for himself; and when He said 'for behold this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man' (Moses 1:39), He meant that He had no wish to elevate Himself through this work, but that His love was the only motivation for offering us salvation. It is this selflessness and presence of pure love that enabled the Saviour of all mankind to submit His will to the Father in His greatest agony. It is this pure love of Christ that would likewise enable us to lift another to salvation, to extend brotherly love through selfless acts of kindness, to do good and serve others in all things and in all places.

Christ's entire mortal life exemplified the pure love He has for all of us, especially those of us who through acceptance of His eternal sacrifice would become His spiritually begotten children, to share His rightful inheritance in the Kingdom of the Eternal Father. The evidence of His love is with us today in the form of ordinances which have been instituted for the salvation of all mankind. A closer look at the three most prominent can teach us to recognise the gift of love in the rest:

• Baptism: Through accepting the ordinance of baptism, we 're-enact the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are ensured a place in His Kingdom. Jesus Christ, the only person who ever lived who did not have to die, chose to die as an act of charity for us because in doing so He conquered death for each of us and ensured our resurrection' (Breck England, NT Lesson 34, Keep the Ordinance As I Delivered Them). Death of a loved one can teaches us that the Saviour's gift of resurrection is a profound act of love, a gift that re-unites families and restores each of us to life and immortality. 

• Sacrament:  Each Sunday we have the privilege of taking the sacrament in remembrance of the ultimate and supreme act of love the Saviour had gifted to each of us for He 'so loved the world that He gave His own life that as many as believed might become the sons of God' (D&C 34:3). We learn from Paul that one of the evidences of charity is 'long suffering'. Surely the Lord Jesus had suffered the longest of us all by experiencing exquisite pain for our sins. Paul also says that those who have charity 'bear all things' and 'endure all things'. Is it not true that Jesus bore our griefs and endured all our sorrows? The ordinance of the sacrament helps us to reflect on these fruits of charity, to marvel at the love so pure that would enable even God to bleed at every pore. 

• Sealing:  It is through the sealing power of marriage that we gain the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life, meaning we are exalted to live with God in family units. "The sealing ordinance represents our Saviour's ultimate act of charity, for through this ordinance we are sealed up to eternal life as co-heir with Him and a co-partaker of 'all that the Father hath' (John 16:15). It is His supreme charity because He literally gives it all; He can give each of us no more than all that He has. If you receive the sealing ordinance and remain faithful, He promises that you 'shall receive your exaltation, that where I am ye shall be also' (D&C 132:23) (Breck England, NT Lesson 34, Keep The Ordinances, As I Delivered Them)

The purpose of the ordinances of the Gospel is not only to advance us in our progression to godhood but to draw us closer to the Saviour and to become like Him. It is our duty to grasp the concept of charity, or the pure love He has for us so that we can emulate that love in our own lives towards others. If we do not grasp the Saviour's love we go unchanged and unaffected and fail to become as He is. If we do not become like Him, we cannot share the inheritance with Him in celestial worlds on high. Lest we be overcome with the magnitude of this charge, we need to know that we cannot acquire or develop the pure love of Christ of our own selves. The pure love of Christ is a gift to all who show obedience and faithfulness as His disciples. After all we can do, by the grace of God, we qualify to receive this love as a gift 'bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ' (Moroni 7:48). It is to our everlasting advantage to 'pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that we may be filled with this love.....that when he shall appear we shall be like him...' (Moroni 7:48)

We cannot become pure, powerful or perfect relying on our efforts alone. When Paul wrote to the Corinthian saints, he acknowledged that he was the least of the apostles and not worthy to be called such because he persecuted the church of God but he also acknowledged that he had become as good as the great work he performed by exclaiming 'by the grace of God I am what I am' (1 Cor 15:9,10). He alone, whom we worship and accept as our personal Saviour, can make of us what we should be. By yielding our hearts to Him and striving to obey Him in all things, we too can possess a love so pure and so divine that we will be granted the purity of character worthy of God's presence and all that is His. May we strive to be recipients of the greatest love of all and may we bless each other's lives with its' power now and forever. May we reach across boundaries, limits and fears and shrink not from love which will lead us to salvation and to that place where we will at last, once more, once again and forever, see the face of God.

ON THE ROAD TO JERICHO

"My father, a printer, worked long and hard practically every day of his life. I’m certain that on the Sabbath he would have enjoyed just being at home. Rather, he visited elderly family members and brought cheer into their lives. One was his uncle, who was crippled by arthritis so severe that he could not walk or care for himself. On a Sunday afternoon Dad would say to me, ‘Come along, Tommy; let’s take Uncle Elias for a short drive.’ Boarding the old 1928 Oldsmobile, we would proceed to Eighth West, where, at the home of Uncle Elias, I would wait in the car while Dad went inside. Soon he would emerge from the house, carrying in his arms like a china doll his crippled uncle. I then would open the door and watch how tenderly, and with such affection, my father would place Uncle Elias in the front seat so he would have a fine view while I occupied the rear seat. The drive was brief and the conversation limited, but oh, what a legacy of love! Father never read to me from the Bible about the good Samaritan. Rather, he took me with him and Uncle Elias in that old 1928 Oldsmobile along the road to Jericho."  (President Thomas S. Monson, Hallmarks of a Happy Home, Ensign, Nov. 1988, p 70,71)".

"....A certain man went down to Jerusalem from Jericho, 

and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, 

and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead" (Luke 10:30)

When a certain lawyer wishing to test Jesus, to see how He as a Rabbi would answer one of the points of debate in the Rabbinical schools, he asked Him the following question: "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25). Jesus recounted to Him a parable in which He, by no chance, made the hero of the story a Samaritan. Jesus asked the lawyer what was written in the law of Moses regarding his question and the lawyer answered perfectly: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself" (Luke 10:27). The question, however, had not been asked to gain information but rather in the hope that Jesus would not give the right answer, Him not being a qualified Rabbi (John 7:15). When Jesus therefore affirmed the truth of the lawyer's answer, the lawyer pressed him further by asking Him who exactly was 'my neighbour'. This too was asked in an effort to discredit Him, for he knew full well that Jesus and the other Rabbis differed widely as to who fell in the category of a neighbour as Jesus had taught His followers: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love your neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt 5:43,44) . To the Jews, their neighbours were the members of the House of Israel and no other. The Gentiles and all who opposed the Jewish people were considered enemies. The Saviour constructed the Parable of the Good Samaritan in such a way because centuries after Moses issued the law to 'love thy neighbour', the rabbis, in laying down for the people narrow and uninspired interpretations of this command, wrote the following: "We are not to contribute to the death of the Gentiles, but if they are in any danger of death we are not bound to deliver them, e.g. if any of them fall into the sea you need not take him out, for such a one is not thy neighbour." (Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible, p. 751).  By the time Jesus was born the hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews, which had been growing for centuries, was at its peak. The Samaritans were a mixed people, in whom the blood of Israel was mingled with that of the Assyrians and other nations thus they were not recognised as pure Israelites by their Jewish neighbours ("The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p. 38). "To the orthodox Jew of the time, a Samaritan was more unclean than a Gentile of any other nationality" (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 172) hence a Samaritan could never be considered a neighbour.

Not only did the Saviour discredit the Rabbinic law of his day by the Parable of the Good Samaritan pointing out rather blatantly that both the priest and the Levite within the story had dishonoured their priesthood and brought disgrace upon their nation by not assisting their fellowman in most dire need but he elevated the hated Samaritan, who was considered an enemy, to the status of a neighbour who chose to make a half-dead Jew his brother (McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 3, p. 179). When Jesus asked the lawyer: "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?", the lawyer could not deny that this honour belonged to the Samaritan who showed mercy.

As we travel through life, we will find ourselves on the road to Jericho, from time to time, on which we will encounter many people with different needs; beggars on the street, struggling single mothers, grieving widows, abused children, impoverished families and men, women and children of all nationalities and of all races. The Parable of the Good Samaritan invites us to ask ourselves who we consider to be our neighbour. It is easy to love the lovelies but not so easy to love those with differing views, those who do not live up to our standards, those who mock us or revile us or even those who purposefully hurt us or those who are just plain 'different'. Do we elevate ourselves above others deeming them unworthy of our association or do we actively seek out those in need, no matter how lowly they might seem? Do we allow prejudice or racism to dictate our actions towards our fellowmen? The Saviour made no distinction between those He served. He associated with publicans and sinners alike and those who needed Him most. And when He atoned for us, He atoned for us all, without any exceptions. When we stood in line to receive His redeeming grace, we all received an equal portion, there was no favouritism there. And when we return home to receive our reward, we will find ourselves amongst black and white, rich and poor, small and great; in short, all who constitute the human family. May we reach out to each other in brotherhood and love that we may be found worthy to one day inhabit together our Father's Kingdom  reserved for the merciful, and the kind, and the loving and the humble and the penitent. 

"Bishop Victor L. Brown told this story to employees of the Church Education System on 9 September 1983. A lesson [on the Good Samaritan] was in a seminary class . . . in Korea. The sequel is told about a student who was in that class. This boy’s father was a physician and a rather affluent man. One day one of the father’s friends called and asked if he were having financial difficulty. His response was that everything was fine. “But why do you ask?” The friend said, “I saw your son selling newspapers on the street corner in Seoul the other day.” The father replied, “It couldn’t have been my son. He has a liberal allowance and has no need for additional money.” The friend said, “I walked up to him and talked to him, and it was your son.” When the boy got home from school that day, his father asked him about the incident. He indicated that he had been selling newspapers. His father asked, “Isn’t your allowance sufficient? Do you need more money?” When the son responded that his allowance was adequate, the father asked, “Then why are you selling newspapers?” He said, “There is a boy in our class at school who comes from a very poor family, and he must have help if he is to stay in school. Each week I have taken my allowance and bought newspapers. I, along with some of my friends, sell the newspapers and give the money to this boy so he may remain in school.” In addition the son had asked his mother to increase the size of the lunch she packed for him each day. She didn’t question him about this; I suppose she thought that as a growing teenager, he was just extra hungry. He told his father that this boy from the poor family went hungry, so he shared his lunch with him. The father asked, “Why are you doing these things?” He replied, “In seminary we have been studying the lesson of the Good Samaritan. I didn’t just want to know what the lesson taught intellectually. I wanted to know how it felt to be a Good Samaritan.”

TO LOVE A SINNER

I have heard once or twice some members of the Church express their disdain for their duty to perform temple ordinances for certain members of their deceased family who they deem unworthy to receive such. Their instinct is to withhold what they consider the greatest of all blessings, namely salvation in the kingdom of God. It has puzzled me that they would feel in such a way because that's the whole point of work for the dead, to give them an opportunity to change and become different thereby casting off the unworthiness. The temple ordinances themselves do not guarantee automatic salvation.  The saving ordinances come free to all men through the grace of our Saviour Jesus Christ but salvation comes on the condition of repentance. They are not rewards for perfection but rather the balm for spiritual wounds caused by sin and a gateway to one's journey to exaltation. The whole point of the saving ordinances is to change the natural man into a saint of God. There was once such a man who did not consider a whole nation worthy of this opportunity, a prophet of God nonetheless whose name was Jonah.

Lest we judge Jonah too harshly, it is worthwhile for us to come to understand the inclination which made him turn away from God's errand with which he was commissioned. Jonah was heavily engaged in prophetic activities and was an adviser to King Jeroboam II, king of Israel (2 Kings 14:25). He was the son of Amittai, of Gath-hepher, which was located in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 19:10-13). As an Israelite, Jonah was taught that he was of the chosen people and that the Gentiles were corrupt and therefore not acceptable to God. When the call came to cry repentance to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, 'Jonah was torn between his loyalty to God and the whip of his emotions. The latter were at a fever pitch and in the end determined his actions. Because he couldn't face the mission call, he determined to flee the country and get away from the unpleasant responsibility' (Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings - Malachi, p 98). Not only did Jonah feel his race was superior to that of the heathen nations but Assyria seemed to be the last straw of his contempt. Assyria was not only a heathen nation but a highly brutal and barbaric one. It was also a bitter enemy to Israel. Jonah, therefore felt Assyria was not worthy to be saved. He was afraid that the preaching of repentance would avert Nineveh's imminent and deserved destruction.

Assyria, named for the god of warfare, Ashur, was located in the Mesopotamian plain. The area that it was located in is today primarily the nation of Iraq, 'their history one of kings and slaves, wars and conquests, bloody victories and sudden defeat' (Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage, The Story of Civilization, 1:266). Warfare was a science to its' leaders but it wasn't just their warfare effectiveness that struck terror to the hearts of the Near Eastern world, it was their savage and brutal nature. Soldiers were rewarded for every severed head they brought in from the field. Their treatment of captives included impaling, torturing, blinding children before the eyes of their parents, flaying men alive, roasting them in kilns over a slow fire, slicing off ears, noses, hands and feet, chaining men in cages for the amusement of the populace and clubbing the survivors to death (Old Testament Student Manual, 1 Kings-Malachi, Enrichment D, p 113). The king of Assyria himself admitted to the awful 'violence that is in their hands' (Jonah 3:8). Why would God want Jonah or anyone to cry repentance to such a people? Surely they were ripe for destruction but it's not men's deeds that make them ripe for destruction but their unwillingness to repent and Nineveh had not been yet given such a choice.

The Lord took Jonah on an interesting trip in his attempt to flee to Tarshish, giving him an opportunity to rethink his actions in the belly of a whale where he spent three days and three nights. When the Jews sought for a sign of divinity from Christ, He referred to Jonah's miraculous emergence from the belly of a whale, synonymous of His emergence from the tomb after three days following his death. I think after three days inside a whale, you would pretty much want to go and preach to Assyrians. It could not be any worse than being inside a fish for the rest of your short life. Jonah repented quick smart and delivered his message to Nineveh. Not one of compassion, mercy or love if they repent, but a very simple and direct one, Nineveh would be overthrown in forty days (Jonah 3:4). To his surprise the barbaric Assyrians repented and were spared the prophesied destruction. Jonah was so upset that he wanted to die. He knew the Lord would spare this people, not because of their repentance but because of the Lord's infallible mercy, hence his unwillingness to preach in the first place: "Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness..." (Jonah 4:2).

All that the Lord does, He does with great meaning, seeking to provide us with teaching moments. The repentance call to Nineveh provides several lessons:

• People are called to repentance so that they would know they are doing something wrong. Everyone deserves an opportunity to change and work out their salvation. Jonah was told that people of Nineveh could not 'discern between their right hand and their left hand' (Jonah 4:11). Judgement cannot be passed effectively on anyone who does not possess true knowledge of right and wrong. Hence the importance of missionary work.

• The saving of Nineveh had the great potential to help Israel see that if the carnal nation, with its ungodly mind, can be saved through repentance, so can Israel be saved from its' prophetic dispersion, if they would only repent. Since Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam, his mission took place approximately 788 B.C. (Old Testament Student Manual, 1 Kings-Malachi, p 97). Assyria swept out of the north, captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and took the ten tribes into captivity in 721 B.C.

• Jonah's mission was to typify the future adoption of Gentiles, who would observe the word of God, into the chosen lineage of Abraham, by side stepping the self-righteous mind of Israel and their pride of its' own election, to come to believe in Israel's divine call to be the vehicle of salvation to all who would believe.

The greatest lesson of Jonah's mission is that divine mercy has no bounds and the reaches of Gethsemane go far and wide, that even the sins which are 'as scarlet...shall be as white as snow' (Isaiah 1:18). Surely the sins of Assyrians in Jonah's time could not be more scarlet than they were yet the Lord forgave them all. The mercy of Him who has power to forgive is beyond the understanding of our finite minds but should be emulated and sought after by every true follower of God. The Lord is eager to forgive. He seeks to make us whole. He only, can provide the balm of Gilead which can heal all wounds, especially the ones caused by sin. When Jonah acknowledged the Saviour to be a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and of great kindness (Jonah 4:2), he was also proclaiming Him to be a God of love for none of these attributes could exist without this one quality of heart. Through his reluctance to fulfill his mission call, Jonah is a symbol of humanity's lack of godly love which desires all to share in God's acceptance. May we have the perfection of this love bestowed upon us, as true followers of Christ (Moroni 7:48)  so that we can be a means of salvation to our brothers and sisters who cannot 'discern between their right hand and their left hand' (Jonah 4:11) and may we be an ensign to the nations of righteousness and saving grace of Him who we follow and whose image is in our countenance.