The Jonah in all of us, by Jay Harvey  Check out Jay Harvey Ministries Christianity Index          Guitar Jams Home          My Christian Metal CDs          Contact          Pastor Brad's Testimony You can probably walk into any church in North America and ask people what they think the book of Jonah is all about.  I have done this myself and I have no doubt you would get the same response as I did.  For the most part it always goes something like this: "The story of Jonah is about disobedience and how Jonah was punished because he didn't obey God's commands.  He suffered for three days in a huge fish and then God gave him a second chance.  Everything turned out okay in the end but we must remember to obey God, or else." This, of course is the "cliff notes" version and it does cover the basics, but when we leave it right there we're missing the real story.  The book of Jonah in the bible is a love story.  God loves Jonah.  God also loves the people in a land called Nineveh that He told Jonah to go to.  He gave Jonah a big responsibility to carry out a mission that would reveal God's grace and love to a people who were considered to be evil and far from God in their hearts.  Upon receiving this assignment from God, Jonah ran from God and what unfolds thereafter, is a love story illustrating God's grace, forgiveness and love through storms, giant fish and an entire city that gives themselves over to God. So why do we miss the point so often when we talk about Jonah in the bible?  One reason perhaps is we still don't read it enough and for that matter, the Old Testament in general is not something most people cozy up to by the fire for a nice relaxing evening of feel good reading.  I think we miss the point sometimes because we start with a wrong viewpoint of God.  The story of Jonah is most often told early on in Sunday School at a young age.  It's an easy lesson to grab onto as a kid because of the basic message of right and wrong, not to mention the entertainment factor of the story itself.  Think about it, there's adventure on the high seas, storms, someone getting thrown overboard.  Then throw in a giant fish and some vomit…..kids love it!  The problem is once the message of disobedience, punishment and God's wrath are repeatedly drilled into the minds of our youth, it's hard for them to unlearn this view of God's character.  Don't misunderstand, there are always consequences for the choices we make in life and if we choose to ignore God, we are making a grave mistake but focusing more on His love and less on wrath will help us understand the Jonah in all of us. Most of the people I've talked with about the book of Jonah have in one way or another summed it up by reiterating what we already know…obey or else!  This leads to a legalistic viewpoint and spills over into our churches, homes, and more dangerously our hearts.  I would argue this mindset (which is very common) usually starts with good intentions but ends up making Christians more judgmental of others, bitter, and arrogantly insulated from God's own heart.  I certainly don't want to live my life being bitter, and ineffective and my guess is you don't either.  So, then the question becomes what do we do?  Let's start with an honest reflection of how we view God, how He views us and then see if we can uncover the Jonah in all of us. In Chip Ingram's book GOD: As He Longs For You to See Him  (which I highly recommend you read after reading my book of course) he lays out a way for us to change our paradigms in the way we view God.  More importantly, how God views us!  One of my favorite principles from the book is: "What you think about God shapes your whole relationship with him. In addition, what you believe God thinks about you determines how close you will grow toward him. (1.) Here's the point.  If we keep on running around trying to please God and in the process we are stepping all over other people's hearts, then not only do we have a jaded view of God, but we have missed the love story of how God views all people.  Make no mistake, there is a little Jonah in all of us.  (Maybe more than you think)  We all hang on to our viewpoints and judgments of others until God breaks down those barriers.  Sometimes, it's easy for God to get our attention.  Other times, He gets creative. Creative to God may be painful to us, and it may even come in the form of a giant fish.  But REMEMBER THIS……the "Fish" was the PROVISION not the punishment.  The fish is the only thing that made it possible to reconnect with God.  Jonah would have drown and been lost forever  if God had not sent that fish.  God rescued Jonah even though he had run away and although I'm sure Jonah would have preferred a Helicopter and a rope, it turned out to be the perfect place for redemption.  Are you starting to get a new view of God?  Is your perspective changing?  Look at your circumstances right now and determine if you might be inside a fish of your own.  Maybe you have been in one before, or maybe there's one swimming your way right now.  It's all about our heart, and God's desire to get our attention.  Trust me, HE loves you.  Even though there is a Jonah somewhere inside of you….HE loves you. m sitemap