This week I'm looking at the story of Jonah - the guy who got swallowed by a huge fish. It's kind of an outlandish story, and not just the part being at the bottom of the sea for three days. God interacts with this uncooperative guy in a fairly strange way.The story starts out by making it really clear that Jonah's heart is not aligned with God's:
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “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. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
God asks Jonah to do something, and Jonah immediately takes off in the other direction. He doesn't just ignore God, or argue with him. He runs away. These people in Nineveh were the enemies of the Jews.
This story is my story a lot of the time. I know I'm supposed to go to people I don't have a good relationship with, and I avoid it. I know in my head it's God's desire is that I would reach out to my "enemies". But in my heart, they can rot.
God forgive me.
Mondays | Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
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