Jonah 1-4
As
you read the book of Jonah, you start to recall the childhood story that you
may or may not have learned in Sunday school; how Jonah ran from Nineveh, was
swallowed by a great fish, and was spit out three days later. Jonah finally
went to Nineveh to deliver God’s message.
Typically that’s where we think the story ends. But chapter 4 really exposes the true heart
of Jonah and many Christians just like him.
In
the last chapter, Jonah reveals his true heart, particularly when it comes
to God’s judgment on others. God spared
the City of Nineveh because they repented and made a sacrifice to God. God showed the entire city that He was
gracious, merciful, and slow to anger.
However, Jonah was angry with God for sparing the city.
How
soon Jonah forgot that God had shown him similar grace and mercy when he was in
the belly of the fish. As a reminder,
God brought a gourd to cover the head of Jonah from the beating sun. But when the gourd dried up the next day, he
was again angry with God. Why should he
be angry about the gourd? He did nothing
to grow it and he did nothing to make it die.
How
often do we as Christians struggle to show grace and mercy to others? We overlook the fact that God has also shown
us that same grace and mercy and probably to a much greater extent.
Each
day strive to exemplify Christ in our relationships with others.
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