Jonah 3:10-4:1 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. (NIV)

Most of us know the story of Jonah.  God tells him to go to the evil city of Nineveh and tell the people there that God will destroy them because of their wickedness.  Jonah refuses.  He hates the Ninevites and wants them to be destroyed, but he fears God will show mercy on them.

Jonah runs away.  He catches the first ship out of town.  He should have known God would still get him.  A storm comes.  Jonah gets tossed into the sea.  A huge fish swallows him and spits him up on land when he repents and prays.

Jonah goes to Nineveh and tells them the Word of the Lord.  The Ninevites repent.  God does not destroy the city.  Jonah doesn’t like that.  He fusses and goes out on a hill by himself and sits down, mad at God.

That is pretty much how the reader is left at the end of the book of Jonah.  Perhaps my favorite retelling of this story is the Veggie Tales version.  (That’s correct – Veggie Tales).  In the Veggie Tales movie, the Pirates that Don’t Do Anything tell Junior the story of Jonah.  Junior can’t believe how the story ends.  Junior asks some obvious questions: What happened next?  What did Jonah learn?

In reply he is told, “The important thing is not what Jonah learned, but rather what did you learn?”

What should we learn from this story?

We should always have a heart for those that have done wrong to sincerely turn back to God.  We ourselves should be open to do the commandments and promptings of our Lord even when we don’t completely understand them.  God wishes none to perish.  He forgives us when we don’t deserve it.  That’s exactly what grace is.  None of us deserve it, but God is always ready to receive us back to Himself with open arms when our heart changes.