Jonah is taught a valuable Lesson we need to Follow

Verses: Jonah 4 : 1 - 11

My thoughts about the verses:

Now Jonah has gone through many struggles and learned a lot of lessons in a very short period of time. For starters he learned not to run from God's calling.  He learned that God was full of compassion. Yet, he missed something up to this point that God was trying to teach him.  He needed to learn that God not only loved him and his community but the entire world.

Imagine getting angry because God used you to save an entire community.  That is exactly what God did for Nineveh.  He sent Jonah to Nineveh to tell them that if they did not change their way they would be destroyed.  Instead of being over enjoyed that the city was saved he became angry. He asked God to take his own life because the city was saved.

God decides that he has one more lesson to learn so he grows a plant that protects him from the heat.  So there sits Jonah sitting under a plant being protected by the sun and heat.  Then God sends a worm to start eating the plant.  It dies and the shade that Jonah is living under disappears. All of a sudden a hot wind starts blowing on Jonah.

Jonah gets more upset than before and tells God to go ahead and kill me.  You can imagine how he feels.  He is sitting there saying even though I did run from you in the beginning I did come through. Now you are punishing me with heat.  He must be thinking that God hated him more than the people that were in the city.  They were saved because they turned from their wicked ways.  Here I sit being punished.  I have already begged from your forgiveness.  Yet, you are torturing me while they are not having to stress and endure your punishment.

Yet, the lesson God wanted him to learn is that he needed to understand God loves all people. We need to understand today that Jesus did not just come to help one or two communities both the entire world.  That anyone who trust in Jesus can receive their award in Heaven.  We are to rejoice because God loves us all.  We should not think that we are better than any other group.  The love that God has is big enough for the entire world to share.

The world needs to learn this lesson.  If you look around there are so many different religious groups fighting each other.  One group thinks that God loves them more than the other.  That they deserve God's favor over another.  I just look at the different groups that are fighting each other and wonder if they understand that God wants the body of the church to be united.  God wants the entire body to stand together.

That is why I am so blessed to be involved with a denomination that understands that we should not allow little things to separate us.  That the church is an extension of God.  Because of that we need to love each person. That we have no right to judge others for their differences.  I love going to a church where people of different faith backgrounds can come together and love each other.

I believe it is time that churches that accept people for their differences stand up.  The only way to end the hate that exists in the world is to have a united voice for the body of Christ.  God never meant for us to be separate.  Think about Jonah and his anger and you will see that God was teaching us that we should be grateful that others have the same blessings we have.  The most important part of the lesson is to remember that you are not more deserving of God's love over any other person or group.

Prayer:

Thank you God for showing us love.  Thank you for sending Jesus so that we can all have the blessing of eternal life.  Help us to put aside our differences.  Help us unite with other religious groups to change the world.  Help us become the Church body that you desire us to be.  Help us dear Jesus forgive those that have wronged us so that we can be the people that you want us to be. In the name of our Risen Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Do you judge people that are different from you?  Are you willing to accept that the body of Christ needs to stand united?  Are you willing to let go of the things that happened in your past?  Are you ready to serve Jesus and lead others to the same loving grace that God has given you?