Jonah 1:2-3a: “’Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.”

 

We’ve all been to Tarshish. Though God needed Jonah in Nineveh, where the people needed the words of a prophet to spur their repentance, Jonah would not go. He ran (sailed, actually) in the other direction, ended up in a fish’s belly, and eventually went to Nineveh. But even with his preaching there, after which thousands repented and returned to God, Jonah was still not in line with God’s will. He eventually saw things God’s way, but it was tough going. How tragic that even servants of God with fruitful ministries still miss out on the joy of oneness with the Father.

 

Jonah is not alone. David, at a time when his shepherding of God’s people was at a high point, fell into sin from which it would take him years to recover. Moses, leading God’s entire nation toward the Promised Land, was at the point of losing his life for disobedience in what should have been a relatively minor task. Peter showed some pretty bad judgment, even in Jesus’ very presence.

 

How frail we are. How pitifully weak. How painfully fallen, in spite of all we’ve been shown, and given, and taught. And what a beautiful backdrop this mess provides for the stark, shocking beauty of God’s grace.

 

The truth is if all of humankind’s goodness and charity and victories and everything that is honorable about this race could be separated from the negative and piled together in one great cosmic place, it would still be a dust pile before the majesty of our King.

 

“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6b-8).

 

In time, we will be humble and obedient and in step with our Father God. That’s when our worship will be unencumbered and everlasting. And until then, despite our pitiful smallness, He will use us for His good work, and love us as His own. All considered, it’s a pretty good deal for us.

 

May the Lord of the harvest be your strength, your way and truth and life, your everything, and may each day find you closer and closer to the center of His will.

 

 

Thought Starters

 

Think about the worst thing you’ve ever done. Isn’t amazing to know that God loves you in spite of this action? Thank Him.

 

 

Now, think about the noblest, most Godly thing you’ve ever done. Isn’t it humbling to know that God loves you regardless of this action? Praise Him.

 

 

Is it conceivable that someone you love unconditionally, such as a spouse of a child, could take some action that would cause your love for this person to increase or decrease even slightly? Or would it merely change the way you express your love to him or her?

 

 

Is it possible that our actions, while they never cause God’s love for us to waver, might change the way God expresses His love to us?

 

 

Is there anything you can do today that would allow a fuller expression of God’s love in your life?

 

 

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