In Relentless Pursuit

What if the story of Jonah is a love story and not a cautionary tale?

I have been reading a Lenten Bible study on the website #shereadstruth. We are studying Jonah, which makes perfect sense for Lent. The entire account of the Book of Jonah revolves around repentance and turning back to God, both personally and as a nation.

I’m very familiar with Jonah. As a child, he regularly appeared on the black felt board with the whale that swallowed him. As an adult, my focus has become on the fact that when we run from God there are consequences. There is forgiveness, but there are also consequences.

Quite honestly, Jonah’s story makes me squirm a bit. The city of Nineveh, where he was called to preach, is modern-day Iraq. I certainly wouldn’t want to go there. Can we really blame him for being reluctant to obey?

But, one of the writers at #shereadstruth, the other day, threw an entirely different idea about Jonah out and I’ve been down that rabbit hole for days. She pointed out that God could have simply struck Jonah down on the spot for his disobedience, or He could have let the ship that he tried to escape on, sink, or He could have let Jonah drown in that angry sea.

But, He didn’t. God wasn’t interested in destroying Jonah for his disobedience. God wanted to use Jonah for a purpose that He alone had preordained him for, before he was even born. Our merciful God wanted to give the people of Nineveh an opportunity to choose salvation and He wanted Jonah to be the catalyst for it.

And so, instead of striking Jonah down, God pursued him relentlessly in ways that only God can do. He made it very clear that He would use all of Creation to get His message across. Think of the old Uncle Sam poster, that proclaimed “I Want you,” on steroids.

Why didn’t God just raise up another more agreeable prophet? Because, God wanted Jonah and He intended to have him.

That same God calls to us today. The Bible reminds us that we too, are created for a purpose, just like Jonah was.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he has planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

My latest study of Jonah’s story has me thinking of it as more of a love story than a cautionary tale. It’s a story of a father who loves His children so very much that He will stop at nothing to have them, even sending them to the bottom of the ocean in the belly of a fish for a few days, but bringing them back safely, even enough to send His son to die to redeem them.

That’s a powerful love story. That’s a love worth pursuing.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂