Just Desserts

“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.”

Jonah 3:10

God has this thing about showing compassion on whomever he wants. Sometimes we don’t like that. The nerve of God to save that child abuser, to reach out to that rapist on death row, to show compassion to that drug pusher! 

If you’ve ever felt the stab of resentment when God wipes the slate clean for somebody whom you would rather he wiped off the face of the earth, guess what? Jonah felt the same way. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach the gospel, so Jonah packed his suitcase—and took the train in the opposite direction. He despised those drug-pushing, idol-worshiping, fornicating Ninevites. 

After ships, storms, seas, and whales, God gave Jonah another chance to rid himself of the resentment. So Jonah climbed up on his soapbox in the middle of the town square and preached that the Ninevites were about to get their just desserts: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” Never had Jonah had such joy in preaching fire and brimstone. 

But what happens? The Ninevites repent—and God forgives them. That really makes Jonah mad. He says to the Lord, “Isn’t that just like you?” God responds, “Have you any right to be angry, Jonah?” Those words stung. 

And they sting today when we hear of a serial killer who comes to Christ, or the deathbed conversion of a tyrant. But God will have compassion on whomever he wishes. We’re all too like the laborers in Matthew 20:12 who complained, “These men who were hired last worked only one hour…and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.” If God wants to give a full day’s wages to the worker hired at the eleventh hour, what of it? 

God wants to make a difference in someone’s life, including yours. Don’t let your resentment stand in your way.

Lord, please keep me from anger and resentment when I see you blessing someone else. Help me to realize that when I feel this way, I’m hindering your work in my life.