Jonah 3:10

Jonah 3:10 says, And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.  The people of Nineveh were saved because they truly repented, asked for God's forgiveness, and turned from their evil ways.  Again, true repentance is more than words.  True repentance is a change in our very nature, where God's forgiveness leads to a new way of life.  There are those who say everything, both good and bad, is preordained.  Here, we read that God changed His mind about what He was going to do to the people of Nineveh.  Some would say that God knew all along that they were going to repent and be saved, but He did not send Jonah with a message of salvation, but of destruction.  Fortunately, we as His followers today are sent with a message of salvation.  I don't believe we are to look for the destruction of sinners, no matter how evil they are, but for their salvation.  We know Jonah knew of the reputation of the people of Nineveh as being evil, but it wasn't a fear of them that made him not want to go. We know he didn't want to go because he was afraid that they would be saved.  What is our attitude today about those who are truly evil today?  Do we fear them?  Do we want them destroyed?  As followers of Christ, we must pray and witness for their redemption, not their destruction.  If anyone dies without coming to a saving knowledge of Christ, then they are forever separated from God.  We, as God's followers, should never be happy when this happens, no matter how evil, or good, that person might be. We cannot write off whole segments of society, or the world, because we view them as evil.  Again, from the cross, Jesus asked for forgiveness for those who crucified Him.  We might say they didn't deserve it, but neither do we.  If we, as followers of Christ, begin to live our lives out of fear and hatred of whole segments of the world, then we cannot be effective witnesses for God.  God may still work through us, but we will miss the joy of our salvation.