This is one of the greatest stories in all of Scripture. Jonah is called by God to step out of the familiar and into the wild. The people of Ninevah were despised by Jonah, and he could not bring himself to obey God and love those people. And so he tried to hide from God by fleeing and stowing away on a ship headed in another direction. It's an ancient tale, but it's a tale for today. We are called by God each day to deal with people we don't like in a way that would honor him, and like the children we are, we just don't want to. So we turn away from them, and turn away from God, and set out to live our life by our own terms. Before long, we find ourselves isolated and cold, as if in the belly of a whale. Life is just so much better when we live for God's purposes over our own.
Readings: Jonah 1:1-4:11; Revelation 5:1-14; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 29:26-27
