God's Grace and Our Bad Moods
Read Jonah 4.
If we're honest, we have to admit we don't like God's grace. Oh, we like it fine for ourselves. But when God shares it and extends it to others—especially others we don't much care for—then we don't like God's grace at all. We're more like Jonah than we care to admit.
Jonah preaches to the Ninevites and they do what he hoped they wouldn't do—they repent. Wait, what? A preacher who doesn't want his hearers to respond to his message? Well, of course not. The Ninevites are evil. They are the bad guy. They are the enemy, the "other." We don't want people like THAT in our church, let alone in the kingdom of God! So after his preaching tour (which had to be less than inspired), he goes outside the city, camps out on a hill above the city and waits to see what God will do. Jonah, we're told, hopes that God will still go ahead and destroy the city. And when God doesn't, Jonah is in a bad mood. A very bad mood. A mood God has to correct.
Or, at least we hope God is able to correct it. We hope God's message got to his heart, but the reality is, we don't know. The story (and the book) end with a question hanging in the wind. God asks the reluctant prophet, "Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?" (4:11). Honestly, it's a terrible ending to the book because we want to know what happens. Does Jonah turn around? Does he now see the Ninevites favorably? Does God body slam him out of his bad mood?
We don't know. Maybe we'll find out in eternity. Or maybe it doesn't matter—because I think the point of the book is not to tell us about Jonah but to shine a light on our own bad moods. Who do you think is unworthy of God's grace? What happens when things don't go the way you think they should? Jonah was absolutely convinced he was on God's side and had God's mind, that the Ninevites should be punished for their wickedness. He was utterly sure he was right—and yet, God's actions showed that he couldn't be further from the truth. He needed an attitude adjustment. He needed to really grasp what God is like.
He's just like us.
So, when are the times you resent God's grace?
And now, in Jonah style, I'm going to leave that question hanging right there.
If we're honest, we have to admit we don't like God's grace. Oh, we like it fine for ourselves. But when God shares it and extends it to others—especially others we don't much care for—then we don't like God's grace at all. We're more like Jonah than we care to admit.
Jonah preaches to the Ninevites and they do what he hoped they wouldn't do—they repent. Wait, what? A preacher who doesn't want his hearers to respond to his message? Well, of course not. The Ninevites are evil. They are the bad guy. They are the enemy, the "other." We don't want people like THAT in our church, let alone in the kingdom of God! So after his preaching tour (which had to be less than inspired), he goes outside the city, camps out on a hill above the city and waits to see what God will do. Jonah, we're told, hopes that God will still go ahead and destroy the city. And when God doesn't, Jonah is in a bad mood. A very bad mood. A mood God has to correct.
Or, at least we hope God is able to correct it. We hope God's message got to his heart, but the reality is, we don't know. The story (and the book) end with a question hanging in the wind. God asks the reluctant prophet, "Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?" (4:11). Honestly, it's a terrible ending to the book because we want to know what happens. Does Jonah turn around? Does he now see the Ninevites favorably? Does God body slam him out of his bad mood?
We don't know. Maybe we'll find out in eternity. Or maybe it doesn't matter—because I think the point of the book is not to tell us about Jonah but to shine a light on our own bad moods. Who do you think is unworthy of God's grace? What happens when things don't go the way you think they should? Jonah was absolutely convinced he was on God's side and had God's mind, that the Ninevites should be punished for their wickedness. He was utterly sure he was right—and yet, God's actions showed that he couldn't be further from the truth. He needed an attitude adjustment. He needed to really grasp what God is like.
He's just like us.
So, when are the times you resent God's grace?
And now, in Jonah style, I'm going to leave that question hanging right there.
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