This post has nothing really to do with the Oscars, but they happened this past weekend and it seemed like an appropriate title. As a church, we have just finished going through the book of Jonah and there is so much to unpack in the book that it is truly hard to get. We can talk about Jonah's disobedience, how the pagan's came to worship God, or we can even focus on the idea of a whole person being swallowed whole by a large fish. There is so much packed into a few pages and four chapters of this short, yet powerful book.
Matt spoke last week about the idea that Jonah is the "John 3:16" of the Old Testament. And I think that this a really great point. We cannot say it enough, that God loves His creation so much that it is his desire to see his grace and love reach everyone. As we have learned, Jonah tried to run from God, he tried to get out of reaching those who didn't believe in Him, but God had something else in store. We saw that God cared so much for Nineveh, a city that is described in the Bible as nothing more than simply evil. And the end of Jonah we see that God poses the question, "And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left...?" That's it. That's how the book ends.
For God so Loved the world that he sent a better version of Jonah, one who would not run and hide, one who would not board a boat for the furthest known location, but God sent Christ so that whoever has faith in him will get to experience life everlasting. What I would love for us to do is to rest in this truth. As Ash Wednesday approaches next week, and we begin our final approach toward Easter, let us remember together that we live our lives in dedication to the God of creation and the God who took on flesh so that we may be reconciled back to Him.
