DON'T BE LIKE JONAH

 "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country?  Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.  Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die, than to live. Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?"  Jonah 3:10-4:4

Many times when we hear about Jonah, we think about how God told him to do something, and Jonah disobeyed, ending up in the belly of a great fish three days and three nights. But God has worked in my life regarding Jonah's response when God forgave the Ninevites.  How many times have I waited for God's judgment to fall on someone and get upset when it doesn't?

It gets even more personal when I was in the place of the Ninevites. I repented of my sins and fellow Christians were waiting for God to destroy me and were upset  when God forgave me and continued to bless me. This hurt more than I could ever express, but God used the pain of this to show me that I've been a Jonah towards others....

God does not call me to be judge and jury over fellow Christians. He commands me to forgive. Forgiving someone when I find them guilty is hard, but that is my job. So as I go through life I want to forgive others and leave the rest to the Lord.

"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."  Matthew 18:35