Gospel Reflections #554: The God of Jonah

Jonah 4:8 “When the sun rose, God now commanded the scorching east wind to blow. The sun also shone over Jonah's head, so that he became limp and said, wishing to die. It is better to die than to live."

Jonah fled from God's call, rebelled against God's command, and became angry and depressed.

Jonah was called by God to go to Nineveh, the capital of the cruel nation of Assyria, and announce its destruction. Despite Jonah's unforgivable rebellion against God's mercy, in the end, everything turned out to be according to God's will.

Jonah, on the other hand, was frustrated that his work was not rewarded, and he did not appreciate the conversion of the people of Nineveh.

One day, God provided to save Jonah from the pain of the heat and made them grow, providing shade over his head.

Jonah knew that God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abundant in mercy, and remembers the plagues.

Nevertheless, Jonah was moved by human thoughts and feelings, and he was happy or depressed depending on the situation.

Even though we know God's will, we sometimes fail to accept it honestly, or we judge others based on our own values and feelings, or we sometimes confuse God's sphere of action with our own sphere of action, or we sometimes do the opposite.

But God is the God who had mercy on Jonah and saved him while punishing him, and above all, He is the God of immeasurable mercy who wants to forgive the cruel and proud Assyrians.

When we, like Jonah, complain about what God does, God accepts us as we are and patiently shows us in many ways who God is and who we are.

God's love, forgiveness, and mercy are so much greater, broader, deeper, and higher than our thoughts can conceive.

And we are kept alive in them even though we do not realize it.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.