Some people have the opinion that the Bible, because it was written so long ago, it no longer relevant to today. Nothing could be further from the truth! We found the book of Jonah a fascinating and thought-provoking read, which gave rise to much discussion. What came across very clearly in the book is the reality and depth of God's compassion for all people.
Jonah appears to be a very grumpy individual from start to finish. One can perhaps understand his initial reluctance to take God's message to the heart of the Assyrian empire (an empire noted for it brutality and barbarity, perhaps not unlike the ISIS of modern times). But it is possible that the main reason for his reluctance to carry God's message to the Assyrians was not so much that he was afraid of them, but that he really believed that they fully deserved their punishment from God and he didn't want them to have the opportunity to repent and receive God's forgiveness!
In the event, Jonah did eventually take the message to the great city of Nineveh, and the people of the city, from the king down, repented of their evil ways. God's response was to set aside the judgement which Jonah had prophesied. We are told, "But to Jonah this seemed very wrong and he became very angry." Indeed, he became so angry with God's act of forgiveness, which had greatly offended his own sense of justice, that he wanted to die. These people didn't deserve to be forgiven (thought Jonah)!
I thought again about this story when the news came through that 'Moors murderer' Ian Brady had died. The acts which he and Myra Hindley carried out against young children, some of whose bodies have never been recovered, were gross offences by any measure. One of my Facebook friends put on their Facebook page, "Hopefully he will burn in hell now." It is probably not only what he did, but the apparent lack of remorse he showed, and the refusal to identify the sites of the missing bodies, which has put him, in the eyes of many, far beyond any chance of redemption.
Yet the truth is that God's grace is not for a restricted few. The point about grace is that it can never be earned or deserved, but is available to all, even the (apparently) most undeserving. God's grace is there for you and me, just as it was for grumpy Jonah, for the violent and bloodthirsty people of Nineveh, and even for people like Ian Brady. The moment a person responds to God's offer of grace, they can experience God's compassion and forgiveness. It may seem absolutely ridiculous to us, but as former slave trader John Newton discovered, it truly is amazing:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
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