Dear Lighthouse,
Have you ever read Jonah? Most of us are familiar with the main events of the story – Jonah refuses to obey God and is swallowed
up by a big fish and then repents and goes on to carry out his mission. But there
is more to the story that is often overlooked. Jonah was told to preach to the
city of Nineveh. His message was simple:
repent or God will destroy the city in 40 days.
So, after his release from the belly of the fish,
Jonah goes on to Nineveh and gives them the message. To Jonah’s dismay
the people did indeed repent. And what was Jonah’s response? He was mad! Take a look at the following passage:
“But
Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, ‘O
Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so
quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God,
slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now,
O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’”
(Jonah 4:1-3)
He argues before God that this was all unnecessary. He’s frustrated. He wanted to see
Nineveh fall – they were pagans, enemies of Israel after all. For
the second time in the story Jonah was upset to the point of wanted to die.
So he goes out east of the city and makes a camp
to wait and see if this city really will be spared. Perhaps the repentance wouldn’t
take. Maybe the city would be destroyed after all. He sets up a shelter and God provides for him a vine to grow. It
is a broad-leaf vine that grows up and gives him nice cool shade from the hot Middle Eastern sun. But the next day God provides a worm to eat the vine and it withers.
Now Jonah is frustrated beyond himself and for a third time is ready for death.
Again, pick up the story here:
“When
the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’ But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’ ‘I do,’ he said. ‘I am angry enough to die.’” (Jonah 4:8-9)
Why was Jonah so angry? What was the problem? The problem was that Jonah was a selfish
man. He was concerned with Jonah alone – his duty, his peril, his comfort,
his opinion. Jonah’s answer was always to give up and quit if he didn’t
get his way. He was only moved to pray in times of trouble. He only took action when forced. And we was displeased when
things were tough.
Remind you of anyone? Too often it reminds me of myself. Living in a great country
like the US it is so easy to become caught up in materialism. And if we keep
our faith confined within the walls of this church it becomes difficult to feel compassion for those outside that are dying
to hear the good news we have to share. Take a look at the conclusion of the
book:
“’You
have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It
sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and
twenty thousand people … Should I not be concerned about that great city?’”
(Jonah 4:10-11)
God’s point was that Jonah was placing
his focus, his concern, on himself rather than on the “big picture” of the world.
He was more worried about his comfort than the salvation of an entire city of thousands. As we talked about recently, we need to see our lives in the perspective of eternity. Earlier, Jonah himself, while sitting in the belly of the fish, almost grasped the concept. He states:
“Those
who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” (Jonah
2:8)
What a statement! What a good insight. Too bad he didn’t
quite get it himself! I fear that many have become calloused in their sensitivity
to the Spirit. We pray when we are in need and forget God when we aren’t. We read His Word out of compulsion rather than to seek His face. We refuse to release our grip on our immediate idols and thus miss the opportunity to grasp the important,
eternal things of God.
But,
my brothers and sisters, this need not be true of you! I see in the Lighthouse
sincerity, growth, and an eagerness to learn. I pray and I encourage you to keep
this attitude. Look beyond yourselves at the “big picture” of life
and continue to strive for God’s glory. Question your motives, question
your behaviors. Don’t live an unexamined life. Live a life that is fruitful for the Kingdom; a life that demands sacrifice, resiliency, and perseverance.
When it is
all said and done we can look back and agree with what Paul wrote to the Corinthians who were a very sensual and indulgent
people. He writes:
“All this [troubles & trials] is for your benefit, so that the
grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting
away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So
we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen
is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (II Cor. 4:15-18)
May God focus
our priorities. I challenge you to seek His face daily in prayer, give thanks
for the temporal blessings, but have the courage to stay in the faith for the long haul.
Our deeds today will echo through eternity.
Serving Him with you,
Evan