"Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry."
Jonah 3:10; 4:1
Jonah's anger at seeing the Ninevites avoid punishment is not unlike most humans would respond. Our sense of justice calls for punishment. It does not sit well in our spirits when someone who is patently guilty gets off scott-free. When O. J. Simpson was not held accountable for killing his wife (although he was later found guilty in civil court), most Americans thought it was a failure of the justice system. Even Christians do not always respond with joy when sinners come to repentance. Instead of rejoicing, they sit in judgment and get angry. How different from the Jesus-model. In the parable of the lost son (Luke 15), the elder son was angry (vs. 28) and refused to join the party the father threw when the prodigal returned. God calls us to leave the vengeance to Him, instead of being the avengers (Romans 12:19). Besides, we need to remember how graciously God has forgiven us when we repented.
Today's Thought: Vengeance belongs to God – not to us.
Have a rejoicing day. Love you.
Jonah 3:10; 4:1
Jonah's anger at seeing the Ninevites avoid punishment is not unlike most humans would respond. Our sense of justice calls for punishment. It does not sit well in our spirits when someone who is patently guilty gets off scott-free. When O. J. Simpson was not held accountable for killing his wife (although he was later found guilty in civil court), most Americans thought it was a failure of the justice system. Even Christians do not always respond with joy when sinners come to repentance. Instead of rejoicing, they sit in judgment and get angry. How different from the Jesus-model. In the parable of the lost son (Luke 15), the elder son was angry (vs. 28) and refused to join the party the father threw when the prodigal returned. God calls us to leave the vengeance to Him, instead of being the avengers (Romans 12:19). Besides, we need to remember how graciously God has forgiven us when we repented.
Today's Thought: Vengeance belongs to God – not to us.
Have a rejoicing day. Love you.
No comments:
Post a Comment