We are offended by ungrateful people.
When we choose a birthday gift, it’s exactly that, a gift. For the recipient to pass judgement on it isn’t playing the game fairly. The giver gets to choose what they wrap up. The birthday boy or girl needs to be grateful they got anything at all.
We give out of love and it should be received the same way.
The story of Jonah is as well-known outside of the church as inside. The part many nonbelievers don’t pay attention to is what happened after the people of Nineveh turned from the ways of evil and took heed unto the message of God.
Jonah went away and sulked.
Jonah 4:5 tells us:
“So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.”
Jonah still expected God to destroy Nineveh. More to the point, it seemed he hoped God would destroy the city.
We read God’s response in Jonah 4:11:
“And should I not spare Nineveh…?”
What gifts do we look askance at? Is it the car we have to make a repair on, grousing that if God truly loved us, the vehicle would run perfectly? Or is it the spouse that doesn’t bring us flowers as often as we wish?
Maybe it’s our health that reflects the degradations of the years we’ve enjoyed on this earth? We see the individual that hasn’t been to the doctor in five decades, and envy surges through us.
Let’s see if we can do as that children’s song suggests. “Count your many blessings, name them one by one…”
Did we take a breath when we first opened our eyes this morning? Did our eyes open? Were we able to climb out of bed, no matter how difficult it was? Do we have both legs still attached to our torso? Could we make it to the bathroom on our own? What about our colostomy bag? Oh, we don’t have one? Praise God for our many blessings, as we count them one by one…
God loves his children. He is the gift giver. We are wise to remember that he chooses what goes in our wrapped packages, and when we open them to see what we’ve got, we must make our gratitude known.
Our life here on earth is a gift, after all, free to us, and given at the largesse of the Father. Let’s lift our hands in praise unto him.
Are we a Jonah, sulking because someone else got a good thing from God, or do we rejoice in the gifts of God simply because they are gifts from God?
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Code: FGO.F.08.15.vp.kjv