Jonah's Disgrace

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Jonah 4:1-2

Why did Jonah refuse to go preach to the people of Nineveh in the first place? What led him to run away from God’s call? Why did he even end up in the belly of the whale? Believe it or not, it was his inability to extend grace to others. He hated the Ninehvites and did not want them to be recipients of God’s grace. He felt they didn’t deserve it. But Jonah new that grace is not deserved. It is God’s goodness toward the undeserving. And Jonah could not bear the thought of his enemies receiving God’s favor. These verses were spoken by Jonah after Nineveh repented of their sins and received God’s forgiveness. Revival broke out in the city and the people fell in love with God. Jonah himself states his displeasure with the whole situation. Wow to have our hearts of hatred revealed. So ugly.

I believe God put this story in the Bible because we can all be like Jonah. Those who struggle to be gracious to others. We love to receive God’s grace but don’t want it for others. Especially or enemies. With this attitude we become a “disgrace”. But that is not our Lord wants from us. He wants us to love our enemies and bless those who spitefully use us. It’s hard to do sometimes. We all have people who have hurt us and we want them to feel our hurt so we seek to hurt them in return.

But we are called to a higher life. We are called to be gracious. Don’t let the Jonah syndrome block God’s grace from flowing thru you to others. Choose to love and leave the results to God.

Today’s prayer: "Lord help me to be gracious to others as you have been gracious to me."

Merry Christmas!!
Pastor Gary