But that a city can be big for God is surprising. God, who has the universe in his hand, can easily oversee even the largest city, one would think. But the explanation comes in JonAxis' Sheet 4:11, where God himself says: "Should I not then pity the great city Ninevehwhere there are more than 120,000 people?" So it was the weight of all the people whom God loves, rushing to their own destruction, that pained him and made the city so great to him.
It is also the pain that God shares with us as Christians. "Close me in your painr in" we sing in "Your Kingdom Matters, Jesus, must be", And that pain should move us to desire the salvation of people with all our hearts where we each live. Nineveh was the capital of one of the most barbaric peoples the world has ever seen, and they were the people of Gods great enemy and persecutor.
But God love and feel sorry even for the people who er his enemies. This is why God allows Christians to live even in places in the world where there is severe persecution. We must surround these persecuted Christians in a special way with prayer and support, so that they can be preserved as Christians and hold on to the testimony of Jesus in the face of their persecutors. For the value of every human being - both the persecuted Christians and their persecutors - is great in the sight of God.
Jakob Rahbek is pastor in Agerskov Valgmenighed
