Jonah's Fear

I love the story of Jonah. He hears the voice of God calling him to preach in the city of Ninevah. His message is simple, repent and turn to God. Jonah runs from God, and finds that it almost kills him. He repents and turns to God, and does what God wants and then finds himself wishing to die.

His problem was that the goodness of God was directed towards people he saw as his enemies. Jonah prays,  says,  “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity" (Jonah 4:2).

It seems to me that we live in an age where Christians hate the goodness of God, unless it is directed towards them. We certainly don't want to see it directed towards our perceived enemies. People with different values, or a different morality, or a different skin color, or now it seems even a difference of opinion, don't deserve to be shown the goodness of God. (and it seems we whisper in our hearts, I am not going to show them goodness either.)

The problems with this is threefold:
1) We don't deserve the goodness of God either. The bible says, "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us."
2) We don't get a say in whom God directs his goodness toward. God is God, and we are not.
3) If you read the book of Jonah, Jonah ends up in a bad place because of his attitude. Jonah's combination of pride and hatred landed him in a s spiritual and emotional prison.

It seems to me that so many Christians are ending up in that same self-made prison. It is sad to see. It can't be fun being them, and it isn't fun being around them.

The book of James says that "Every good and perfect gift gift comes from above" (James 1:17). If you see good thing happen to a person who is not good, even that comes from God. So don't be like Jonah - celebrate the goodness of God - even when it shown to people who are different, even opposed to you.