Angry When God Is Kind

Jonah Under the Plant

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In Jesus' story, the older brother “was angry and would not go in” (Luke 15:28). He was upset because his father was kind to someone who did not deserve it. Long before, a prophet named Jonah felt the same way.

Jonah's job. God sent Jonah to Nineveh, a great city full of wicked people. At first Jonah ran the other way. But after God rescued him, Jonah went and warned the city. The people turned from their evil ways, and God did not destroy them (Jonah 3).

Jonah was angry. You might think Jonah would be happy. Instead, it upset him very much, and he became angry (Jonah 4:1).

He knew God. Jonah prayed, “for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2). Jonah knew God was kind. That was exactly what made him angry.

A gentle question. God asked Jonah whether it was right for him to be angry (Jonah 4:4). God did not shout at Jonah. He asked him to think about his own heart.

The shelter and the plant. Jonah went outside the city and sat in a little shelter to see what would happen. God made a plant grow up to shade Jonah's head, and Jonah was very glad for it (Jonah 4:5-6).

The worm. The next morning God sent a worm, and the plant dried up. A hot wind blew, and the sun beat on Jonah's head. Jonah was angry again (Jonah 4:7-9).

God's last question. God told Jonah that he cared about a plant he had not planted or made grow. Then God asked whether He should not care about Nineveh, a great city with more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who could not tell their right hand from their left, and many animals too (Jonah 4:10-11).

Still inviting. God's last words to Jonah were a question, and the father's last words to his older son were an invitation. Both angry men were gently invited to share in mercy.

God was kind to Jonah too. God had rescued Jonah when he ran away, and He was patient with Jonah when he was angry. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

What we learn. When God is kind to someone you think does not deserve it, ask yourself God's question to Jonah: Is it right for me to be angry? Then remember how kind God has been to you.

The older brother's anger (Luke 15:28) has an Old Testament match: a prophet who was angry because God showed mercy.

Nineveh spared (Jonah 3). Jonah preached, the people of Nineveh turned from their evil way, and God did not bring the disaster He had warned them about.

Burning anger (Jonah 4:1). It displeased Jonah very much, and he became angry. The Hebrew word for angry here means to burn with anger. God's mercy did not cool Jonah's heart. It made it burn.

Jonah's complaint (Jonah 4:2). “For I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.” Jonah used God's own words about Himself (Exodus 34:6), and he used them as a complaint. He believed the right things about God and still resented them.

God's questions (Jonah 4:4, 9). God asked whether it was right for Jonah to be angry. He asked again about the plant, and Jonah insisted that he was right to be angry. God did not crush him. He kept asking. The God who had sent a great fish to rescue Jonah (Jonah 1:17) now sent a plant, a worm and a wind to teach him.

The plant (Jonah 4:6-10). Jonah was glad for a plant that gave him shade and angry when it withered. God pointed out that Jonah pitied a plant he had not labored for or made grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.

Nineveh (Jonah 4:11). Then God asked whether He should not pity Nineveh, that great city, with more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who could not tell their right hand from their left, and many animals as well. Jonah cared about his comfort. God cared about people.

Two invitations. Both endings leave the door open: Jonah and the older son are each asked to share in mercy (Jonah 4:11; Luke 15:31-32), and the same question comes to us.

Why it matters. It is possible to know true things about God's grace and still resent it when it reaches someone else. Jonah needed the mercy he resented, and so do we. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Your Brother Came Home

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The father told his older son, “your brother was dead and is alive again” (Luke 15:32). The older son had called him “this son of yours.” The father wanted him to welcome his brother home.

When someone comes back. Sometimes a person does wrong, is truly sorry and turns back to God. The Bible shows us how to treat a person like that.

Forgive and comfort. In the church at Corinth, a man had done wrong, and the church had corrected him. Now he was full of sorrow. Paul told the church to forgive him and comfort him, so that he would not be swallowed up by too much sorrow. He asked them to show the man their love again (2 Corinthians 2:6-8).

No longer a slave. Onesimus had left his master, Philemon, and it seems he had done him wrong (Philemon 18). Then Onesimus met Paul and became a believer (Philemon 10). Paul sent him back and asked Philemon to receive him, no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother (Philemon 15-17).

Receive one another. Paul told believers to receive one another, just as Christ also received us (Romans 15:7). Jesus received sinners (Luke 15:2). His people learn to welcome them too.

Love you can see. John wrote that if someone says he loves God but hates his brother, he is not telling the truth. Whoever loves God must love his brother also (1 John 4:20-21).

Not always easy. Welcoming someone back can be hard, especially if they hurt people you love. The older brother had real reasons to feel hurt. Ask God to help you forgive.

Stay safe. You can forgive someone and still stay safe. If someone hurts you, tell a trusted grown-up.

One family. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). Everyone God welcomes becomes part of the same family.

Saved by mercy. God saved us “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5). Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures” and “rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Every one of us was welcomed the same way.

What we learn. When someone turns back to God, do not stay outside like the older brother. Welcome them the way God welcomed you.

Your brother (Luke 15:32). The older son said “this son of yours” (15:30). The father answered, “your brother was dead and is alive again.” He would not let one son disown the other.

Forgive and comfort (2 Corinthians 2:6-8). Paul said the correction the church had given was enough. Now they should forgive and comfort the man, who was now full of sorrow, so that he would not be swallowed up with too much sorrow, and they should confirm their love to him. Correction is meant to lead to restoration, not to keep a person outside.

Onesimus (Philemon 10-18). Paul wrote to Philemon about Onesimus, who had left his master and, it seems, owed him something (Philemon 18). Onesimus had become a believer through Paul (Philemon 10). Paul asked Philemon to receive him no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother (Philemon 15-17). Like the older son, Philemon was asked to welcome someone whose wrong may have cost him.

Receive one another (Romans 15:7). Paul told the believers in Rome to receive one another, just as Christ also received them, for the glory of God. The leaders complained that Jesus received sinners (Luke 15:2). Those whom Christ has received learn to receive others.

Love that shows (1 John 4:20-21). John wrote that anyone who says he loves God but hates his brother is a liar, because the one who does not love the brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen. The command is plain: whoever loves God must love his brother also.

Honest about hurt. The older son's hurt was real. Welcoming a returning brother does not pretend that the wrong was small. It chooses love anyway. You can forgive and still stay safe: if someone hurts you, tell a trusted adult.

One family (1 John 3:1). “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” Every child of God was received by grace, so no one in the family stands above another.

Saved by mercy (Titus 3:5). “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures” and “rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The rule-keeper and the runaway come in by the same door.

Why it matters. People who have been welcomed by God should make it easy for a sinner to come home.

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