ANGER AND GRACE

READ

Jonah 4:2-3

Psalm 86:1-17

FOCUS

I knew that you are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people.

Jonah 4:2

It’s ironic that one of the most beautiful descriptions of God found anywhere in the Bible tumbled from the lips of an indignant, enraged man like Jonah. The prophet finally admits why he ran from God in the first place – he was afraid that God would be true to His gracious form and forgive the despised Ninevites. God is described here as ‘tender and kind' –(a common pairing in the Old Testament, see Exodus 34:6, Psalm 86:15). The word ‘kind’ comes from the word ‘womb’ and speaks of a motherly love. And, in stark contrast to the fuming former fish-dweller, God is ‘slow to anger’. God is ‘full of love’ – a reference to His steady faithfulness; He ‘takes pity on people’. The late Gerald Coates affirmed that God does bring judgement, but that it is His ‘strange work’. But Jonah is so mad with rage that he can’t stand God. So why should anyone complain about such beauty and grace? The answer is simple. We want God to be gracious and forgiving to us – but not to paedophiles, serial killers, former Nazi concentration camp guards – or anyone at all that we consider to be our enemy, or to have committed what we see as unforgivable sins. We want God to fix the evil in the world – but the idea that He might rush to discipline us when we step out of line is less palatable. Jonah was glad God has been gracious to him, shown by the arrival of an ordained fish – but not that Nineveh might receive the same kindness. God is good – scandalously so.

Prayer: Thank You for Your grace to me. Help me celebrate when You are gracious to others – especially those that I don’t like. Amen.