As I dove into the book of Jonah alongside the women in my Crash community, something quickly became clear me: He thought he knew better than God and that seemed all too familiar.
See, Jonah was a prophet who knew and loved the Lord, but when the time came, he couldn’t handle the task God set before him. He had been given an order by God to go and preach to the city of Nineveh – a city riddled with sin. This in no way whatsoever interested Jonah. He turned and ran in the opposite direction.
If you paid attention in your Sunday school days, it’s not difficult to recall what happens next. Jonah couldn’t run from the Lord, and it took a few nights inside the belly of a whale to finally come to this realization. Although this ordeal was enough to get Jonah to visit Nineveh — as God had commanded — his heart still wasn’t in the right place. He just couldn’t get on board with the idea of saving these sinful people. To him, they didn’t deserve the mercy God wanted to pour out.
I’ve seen the world through exactly the same lens as Jonah at various times in my life. I’ve asked God why He would put me in situations that affect my comfort, my happiness and my safety – all for the purpose of reaching people who don’t even want to be reached. People who seem to love sin. People who are hostile to the gospel message.
The story of Jonah is all about one simple truth: God is after the hearts of everyone — from preachers to sinners. He pursues the lost and the found. And although God doesn’t NEED to use us to reach each other, He chooses to do so. Ironically enough, as we see in Jonah’s story, the “saint” often needs just as much grace as the “sinner.”
As we study Jonah as a church body, I hope you are challenged by this incredible message. I was blessed to study it with my Crash family, and I know you will be too.
