Have compassion for people who don’t know God.
Key Verse:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some
understand slowness. He is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Bible Exploration: Jonah 3:10-4:11
Many people are hostile toward God. Some people think that the
Bible is just another book, that they can find God in their own way,
that everyone will go to heaven, that God causes evil, and so on.
Some of these people go out of their way to be rude and hostile
to Christians. Yet, as we’ve seen during our lesson today, Jesus
not yet come back to earth because he wants everyone to have
opportunity to repent of their sins and receive him as Lord and
Savior. He doesn’t want anyone to spend eternity in hell.
To think about and discuss:
- Why is God so patient with people?
- When each of us realizes that God has compassion for all of us— Christians and non-Christians—what difference should that make in our lives today?
- Why do you think it’s hard for some Christians to keep reaching out with the love of Christ to people who seem to want nothing to do with God? Is there a limit to your love and patience with non-Christians?
• “Interview” a non-Christian friend. Get his or her perspective on what Christians are “really” like. Just listen, and try to understand why your friend has these perceptions. Ask God to give you insight on how you can best represent Jesus to others.
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