Love God Greatly - JonahSample

God is gracious to us

Normally a preacher is pleased when the people he is preaching to repent, but Jonah wasn´t. He was displeased with the repentance of the people of Nineveh and got angry for God´s mercy toward them. Think about it for a minute. He was not only displeased, he was angry!

Then, he starts arguing with God and justifying his previous actions – “You see? That´s why I didn´t want to obey You, because I knew Your love is big and You are merciful!” 

The repentance and salvation of the people of Nineveh was so painful to Jonah that he would rather die than think about it; this was the reason he fled the call - not out of fear that he would be ineffective, but fear that he would be effective!

But Jonah himself called on the mercy of God and enjoyed the mercy of God when it was extended to him. Now he resents it when it is extended to others. What if God treated Jonah the way Jonah wanted God to treat the Ninevites?

Does it happen to you, too? Do you cry mercy for yourself but deny it to others? Do you get angry when good things happen to people who, according to you, don´t deserve it? Let´s replicate God´s mercy and love in every occasion and confess our sin of judging others if we struggle with that. 

Dear God, thank You for Your love and mercy. I thank You for the opportunities You give me to repent from my sin. Remind me that You are the only Judge and that I´m not called to judge others. Help me love and offer mercy like You do. Amen.