R C Sproul, a famous theologian once told of an incident that happened when he was teaching freshman students a course on the old testament. (Sproul narrates this beautifully - Link to R C Sproul's video.) He had mentioned that to pass the course they are to give three assignments on the due dates - September 30, October 30, and November 30, without fail. He clearly mentioned that there were no concessions for late submissions, which would straightaway result in an 'F' grade.
On September 30, he got 225 submissions out of 250, and he could see 25 terrified students pleading for extension, requesting him to consider their inability to budget time properly to finish the assignment. He conceded and said that this was the last time he was going to make an exception.
On October 30, he got 200 submissions, and there were 50 slightly anxious students in class. When he asked why they didn't submit, they requested him for an extension claiming delay due to homecoming celebrations and mid-term assignments. He reminded them of the warning he gave the previous time. They pleaded again. He conceded and warned them again saying that this would be the last time he was going to consider such late submissions.
On November 30, he got 100 submissions only, and 150 students didn't submit. He saw them walk in as cool and as casual as they can be. When he asked one of them about the submission, he casually replied, 'Don't worry about it Prof., I'll give it to you in a couple of days.' Sproul picked up the grade book and marked 'F' for all who didn't submit. There was silence, and then he heard someone shout angrily, 'That's not fair!'. He called that boy out by name and realized that that boy was one of those who had requested an extension the previous time also. So Sproul said, 'If justice is what you want, that is what you will get,' and went back to the grades of October, and changed that also to 'F', and then said, 'Now, who else wants justice?' The class was silent.
The first time they were amazed by grace. The second time they were no longer surprised, they basically assumed it. The third time, they demanded it and believed that grace was an inalienable right, an entitlement to which they all deserved. The moment you think someone owes you grace, you should know that you are not thinking of 'grace' anymore. For grace by definition is undeserved!
'Is it right for you to be angry?' - A question to a prophet who was angered by God's grace to others.
Remember, we don't determine how much God is to be gracious to us. If God showed us grace once, that doesn't mean that we 'deserve' grace the next time. We also don't determine who God can be gracious to. Instead of thinking of how we don't deserve God's grace, we are too quick to think that others don't deserve God's grace. We ask, 'What if we did more good works than others and try a little more than others, then don't we deserve more grace than those who aren't trying that much?'. But grace is not due to the merit of good works, so don't bring that up! 'But, how is that fair?' we ask. But grace is not about fairness you see. Justice is about fairness, and if we ask for God to be just, we will be among those who perish due to our wickedness.
When the people of Ninevah repented, God forgave them and didn't bring the calamity that He said He would. This made Jonah angry. Let us read what happened next.
Jonah 4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade, and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
If there was a prophet who wanted to run far away from God and yet be called again; if there had to be a man dead in the depths of water and then come to life; if there was a preacher who saw a great revival as a result of just 3 days of preaching it has to be Jonah. But this Jonah wasn't happy
Are you like Jonah, unhappy and painfully blind to what God has accomplished through you? Sit and write down what God has done through you. Not to be proud, but to be grateful.
We are asked to stand in the gap and intercede for those who don't know God. Are you standing in the gap - pleading for mercy, or sitting at the east of the city - waiting for disaster to strike them? Is there anyone who you wish was cursed instead of blessed? Ask God to change your attitude towards them.
God loves stories. He talks through parables and life incidents. Similar to the burning bush, the springing up and the death of the leafy plant was an incident through which God wanted to speak to Jonah. Jonah absolutely missed the point! Is there anything happening in your life, where you are blind to God's reaching out to you?
Jonah forgot about the grace offered to him. He took that for granted. He then was complaining that it was not fair that God was being gracious to the Ninevites. In that state of mind, he wasn't able to see the continuing grace of God working in his life, through the shade, and through the worm, through the lesson, God was trying to teach him. The moment we think we have a say on who God should and shouldn't be gracious to, we are crossing a line that ought not to be crossed. Let us remember our creaturely position in front of the Almighty God, the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. It is never right to be angry with God.
Link to the previous article: Why are you angry? Link to the next article: Why are you so afraid?
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