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"The Pastor's Message"
from the desk of Eadred Bryans (October 2005)
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THE JONAH ATTITUDE
Most people have heard of Jonah but I wonder how many of us see this dramatic story as a powerful object lesson for our day.
When Jonah was asked by God to go to Ninevah and preach
to the people of this large city, he chose to board a ship to Tarshish and run the other way!
The dramatic events of the storm at sea, Jonah being thrown overboard and the big fish
swallowing him, are events that all lead to Jonah’s startling admission in Jonah chapter 4 verses 1 & 2.
Jonah explains in these verses that because
he knew God was a gracious and compassionate God, he also knew that God would be gracious to the people of Ninevah when they turned from their ungodly ways (Jonah 3:10),
and that’s exactly what happened!
After being vomited onto dry land, Jonah finally preached to the people of Ninevah. They turned from their ungodly ways and God was pleased, but
Jonah wasn’t!
In today’s terms we would say Jonah had a bad attitude, he wanted the people to suffer the consequences of their ungodliness at the hands of a holy God.
It
seems to me that nothing has really changed.
We can all have bad attitudes at times and instead of wanting the best for others we want them to get what we think they deserve, even
when there has been a change of heart!
That’s the JONAH ATTITUDE and unfortunately it has its consequences.
The good thing is, God has not
changed either, He is still a gracious and compassionate God who wants to draw us to Himself in 2005.
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