We are whiners, aren’t we? Nothing can be perfect, especially the weather. It’s always too rainy, or too dry, or too cloudy, or too sunny! As 
the heat of summer really begins to beat down, I’ve found myself whining about it more and more.
One biblically bad whiner was the prophet Jonah. He whined about preaching to the Ninevites and then went so far as to try to run away from God to avoid doing it. And then when he does preach to them and they repent, what does Jonah do? He sits down to whine some more! Jonah 4:8 says, “When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
As Jonah was pouting, sitting on a hill that overlooked the city, the Lord caused a plant to grow which gave Jonah shade. Then the Lord sent a worm which ate the plant and the next day it had withered. God points out to Jonah that he’s upset that the plant died, even though he did nothing to make it grow and put no effort into keeping it alive.
The Lord had put effort into the people of Nineveh, just as He has with everyone. He cares for them and provides for the faithful and faithless alike. “He desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” (1 Tim. 2:4). He cared deeply for the 120,000 non-believers in that city and went to great lengths to bring them the Word, despite their wickedness and despite an unwilling servant.
Are there people that we desire God’s grace not reach? Do we see some people as less deserving of God’s forgiveness? When Christ lived His perfect life, He didn’t do so with only believers in mind. What motivated Him was His great love for all people of all time. He thought about the fact that through His work, God’s grace would be offered to all.
When Jesus’ blood flowed out onto the cross, it was innocent blood, valuable enough to pay for every sin ever committed. Jonah’s three days in the belly of the whale pointed ahead to Christ’s three days in the tomb, and His victorious resurrection. Through faith in Him as our Savior, we inherit eternal life. What a message! What a wonderful gift to bring to those around us! We have the opportunity to share this incredible account with others – God can use His Word that we share to create the faith in someone’s heart that enables them to enjoy heaven forever! This isn’t a burden we feel compelled to accomplish but a joy! It is a way that we can respond to God’s grace and mercy that He has shown to us! Praise God that He did not neglect us, but sent His Son as our Savior, and made us His children through the waters of baptism! May He bless us all as we look for opportunities to share His love.