So, the question I am asking myself and I hope you are asking yourself as well is… What is my response to God’s heart? Jonah speaks so clearly of God’s heart and who He is. So what’s my chapter 5? Jonah’s hand apparently hurt to much to finish the story…but it was definitely for our benefit, that we would not just see Jonah as an example–whether his response was good or bad, remains unanswered–but that we would examine ourselves as the example.
What do I mean by that? you ask. Well, what were you’re thoughts as you journeyed through this time with Jonah? Were you quick to judge him? I know I was. Were you quick to point out all his bad qualities? Me too. That is exactly why that for so long this book has been perceived as a book about Jonah. His bad example, about how we should not act.
I was reading in Radical by Platt, and it was talking about the Church and what it should really look like, as compared to the Church in the Bible. And he made the statement about how we are probably the only organization left that counts success by what we don’t do, instead of by what we do. And that’s not good. Holiness is defined by actions, not by good intentions.
{that was free}
But, as the last posts have shown, this book was not meant to show us just Jonah and his bad example. It was mostly meant to show us God’s heart. And we are left we a question at the end of chapter 4 that demands response.
“You feel sorry about this plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly, by My word. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals (referring back to Jonah’s concern that a plant–something that cannot obtain salvation); should I not spare this great city?”
That is God’s heart. A God of second chances. A God of repentance. A God who relents. A God with moving compassion, not just stationary love.
So, what is my response to that? Am I am person of second chances? Repents? Relenting? Compassionate?
The truth is, none of our hearts look like that. But with the grace of God they can! We can have a heart like His. Do we believe that? Do we desire that?
Or…do we leave chapter 4 and are not willing to write our own chapter 5. Maybe for you, that’s to run back to God in repentance. Maybe, it is to run to someone who needs discipleship, not just conversion. Maybe it’s to turn to Him for the first time. I don’t know. I’m still working on my own response as well. For me, it is to fight this battle with myself. I think Jonah had that too. I think he was battling a lot of different things–His heritage (Israeli, Assyria as his enemy) and His calling (to go to the ones who God loves–even the Assyrians). I’m fighting right now as well. But the battle is not our own. Ephesians 6 is all about the Armor OF GOD. It’s not in our strength we fight, as we struggle to write chapter 5. So, let’s fight this. It is worth fighting for. It is worth it–the world needs it. Read the end of that section in Eph. 6…the end result of fighting is that others may hear.
So, ask yourself…What is my Chapter 5?
