The prophet Jonah tries to flee from God and God’s command to call the unbelieving Ninevites to repentance for the shocking reason that he knows full well that God would be gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. We are reminded how foolish it is for us live by and love God’s mercy for ourselves and yet not forgive those who sin against us. We do not want God to deal with us according to what we deserve and we should not want Him to do that for anyone else. Instead may God grant us to forgive those who sin against us even as we pray that He would mercifully and freely forgive our trespasses.
