Jonah 1:1-3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Have you ever received a word from God to do something that you did not want to do. In fact, the thing he wanted you to do was something that would benefit the eternal destiny of the person. But the thing you wanted for that person was the opposite of what God wanted for that person. In plain English, you hated the person. Which in and of itself God does not like. Maybe you were like Jonah and headed the complete opposite direction from where God told you to go.

You may or may not have been there. But the simple fact is that no matter how bad this person may have hurt you, God still loves them also. He knows how terrible a place called hell is and He does not want any soul in that place. So, He calls His messengers to go and take the gospel to them. If you are a Christian and still have this hate in your heart, then He has two purposes in mind. One is the soul that needs saving; two is that He is trying to fix your hardened heart. And He will accomplish His purpose whether you comply at first or not. It may not be through the extreme measures He took with Jonah, but He will take measures.

See this is the thing about the Christian life. Jesus saves you, then He works on healing you. This is not an easy process, and the road can be difficult. But the end of the journey always leaves the man or woman closer to Him and more like the person He wants us to be. Jesus walked among us perfectly sinless. He saw the suffering. He witnessed us treating each other badly. He also knows everything that we felt and understands the trauma that others inflicted on us. But He knows that hate and anger are poison that kills us. This is why He calls us to these difficult tasks. Do not run, do not hide, just obey and life will be so much better at the end of the thing.