The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-04-28
GODS PITY FOR THE HEATHER
By Edward Leigh Pell, D. D.
The SUNDAY ehooLc or Apri iona ~.


He went ont of the city and sat
down by the wayside To sec what
would happen. lie did not. know what
very hot and he made little booth
and sat under its shadow. Presently
God caused a gourG vine To spring up
and he WAS mere comfortable as he
sat under It's cool foliage. But that
night Il worm guawed the Vine and
thu next morning when the sun arose
the vino wiltcd. And tine hot sun
beat upon Jonahs head until ne again
wished he was dead. lie was angry
with God, angry about tre gourd, out
of humor @ith everybody and every
thing. lie Was angry on account of
the way God Mad treated nim and on
account ot thp way ne mad treated
the poor gourd vine.
Iao you think it wen that you
should be angry about that gourd
vlne?' said Jehovah.
Yes, / do snapped Jonah
Jonah" said Jehovah. you have
pity for the gourd which did not cost
you ii moment OF toll. which came
UP in "A night and persisted tn a night
ana Is ot no consequence. Should /
not have pity on NineNah that great
city in which there are more than a
hundred and twenty thousand infants
and little children, besides many poor
dumb cattle
The Heart OF the Ie-sstn
What Jonah needed was the quail
IT, OF mercy" II he had been yncrci-
ful he would have been thoughtful
and he would have been thoughtful OF
others rather than himself And he
would have been the happfest man
| alive at the naws that God had deter
mined not to destroy Ninevah. Let
| people call me a false prophet, If
! they will" he would have said. ia
rather be called a false prophet ALI
my life than have those poor Nine
Vites destroyed But lacking In the
| quality Of mercy he thought only Of
/ himself and being concerned only for
| himself he actually thought that il
was more important to save his own
reputation as "A prophet than to save
| the lives OF several hundred thousand
! NineVites
And $50 God had to take poor. sell
| fish disgruntIed Jonah by the hand
! and lead him off 10 quiet spot ana
teach him as one would teach little
child how selfish and uuinerciful he
! was.
Jonuhs need is the need of the
world. 1t is your need and mine. We
/ never realize it So fully AZ when we
come face 10 face with such Il problem
rs confronted Jonah. Here is my
reputation at stake says Jonah
1 And there are those nlisei-a BILE heaV-
en-eursed pagans Why should care
for thesn? Why should ] be con
cerned more for their salvation than
for the salvation of my own reputa-
lion If God had cared anything foI
/ them would He have allowed them tc
remain in such darkness all this
while@ And If he doesn't care for
them why should 70
Here is my hard earned money,
says q twentieth century Jonah And
there are those upspeakabie Chinese
Why should / care more for those
heaven-cursed heather than / DO fol
these hard earned dollars the chill
drHn OF my brain and Drawn" +
God had cared anything for tn,
heather Chinese would He have al
lowed them To remain In dark
all these centuries? And If He doesn
care for them why should IT,
Oh. tho humanity OF II! why
says God To Jonah. "yutt are sorry foi
Yourself and you shed sentimental
tears over q poor little gourd vine
whiting in the sun. and you haven
ii bit of pity for the hundred ana
twenty thousand helpless babies o
| NlueAnh VINO are threatened Win IN
slant destruction" What am aWtu
charge to bring against Jonah! Blu
God is hrnsing tn. same chtrg'
against many of us TODAY. We haV'
PITY and In spare for ourselves whcl
things don't go Ger way, and we hav'
pity for q diving flower, a singed kit
ten a lmpinG dog. and yet We sci
dom give a thought to The wi1lion
OF oar brothers who are diving il
outer darkness What Is the troubl
with our hearts? II II that We hav
cultivated 81 sentimental tenderness
for things that come within on
| range of vision, nistaking it for tia
quality Of mere. that comes from tn
Mcrcifut one -foI the mercy of Goa
that is wider than the Sea, that en-
TRACES aii rtef ar afti'.s'. of til
sea?