WOYWW: Angry Jonah

Here are some of the cloth collages I've been pinning to sew into purses. Most of the scraps are from my mom's old dresses that have holes and can't be worn anymore. 

"Have you reason to be angry?" 

Jonah 4:4

Jonah is a comic book character to me, but Jesus believes in him and mentions him in Matthew 12:39. Jesus pointed out, probably in exasperation, "No sign shall be given this perverse generation but the sign of Jonah the prophet." Jesus could have said the 'very reluctant prophet'! When I read Jonah's story, I am incredulous. How could Jonah disobey God's clear command to go and preach to the wicked Ninevites, to tell them to repent? The story of Jonah is the story of God's training Jonah to obey, but it also shows God's heart. Even if the people of Nineveh were evil sinful people, God wanted to give them a chance to repent. In contrast, here was Jonah who was so angry with God. "I know You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, loathe to punish. I went around Nineveh proclaiming their destruction, and what did You do? You relented because they repented!!!!" 

God answered him: "Have you good reason to be angry?  Don't you have compassion on the plant that gives you shade? Why should I not have compassion for Nineveh's 120,000 people who do not know right from wrong?" 

We can definitely count on God's compassion. He showed us that we are precious to Him, engraved on the palm of His hand, by sending Jesus to give His life for us. But if we are disobedient, recalcitrant, reluctant to follow Him, we can also count on Him to discipline us, to prune us, to teach us His ways. Let us delight in a God who doesn't abandon us, never gives up on us, and always gives us second and third chances.