Lessons From Jonah

    18 years ago, VeggieTales made the jump from direct-to-home videos to the big screen, releasing Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. Given that Jonah's story ends on a unique, not-so-uplifting note, it was interesting that VeggieTales chose to make this Bible story into a full-length movie. That said, the movie  does end on a positive note with a musical number about Jonah's story and the lessons we can learn from it. Recently, I read through the Book of Jonah (both with friends at church and on my own) and I wanted to share my takeaways from reading through Jonah. Here we go:

God Uses Us in Spite of Ourselves

     Last year, I heard a sermon where the overall message was that God will use us in spite of ourselves and our actions. While the sermon itself focused on Samson and his life, Jonah is another good example of God using someone in spite of one's actions. When Jonah was instructed by the Lord to go to Ninevah, he went the exact opposite direction and set sail for Tarshish. Upon further context  from friends, going to Tarshish was about as far east as one could go at the time. Jonah completely disobeyed God and did his best to get as far away from Ninevah as he possibly could.

    Now here's where God uses Jonah's disobedience: when Jonah and the mariners get caught up in a storm, Jonah confesses that he has been running away from the Lord and is the reason for the storm. This becomes incredibly clear when the storm ceases after Jonah gets thrown into the sea. These events ultimately lead to the mariners fearing the Lord and making a sacrifice to Him. God used Jonah's disobedience to lead the mariners to Him. Had Jonah not attempted to flee to Tarshish, the mariners never would have come to the Lord. 

    As a disclaimer, this takeaway is not meant to condone our own disobedience and misdoings. There are consequences for actions. God punished Jonah for his disobedience by appointing a great fish to swallow him. Jonah stayed there for 3 days. What this does show is that God can - and will - use us no matter what we do. This ultimately displays God's sovereignty and fact that He is the one in control. 

God Offers Grace & Redemption to Us All

    A major theme of the book of Jonah is redemption. Jonah and the Ninevites (and even the mariners)  experience redemption from God when He extends them grace and mercy. When Jonah's in the belly of the fish, he cries out to the Lord with a prayer, one that mirrors some of David's psalms and Jeremiah's laments. The Lord sees and hears Jonah's change of heart and cry for redemption, which leads to the fish vomiting Jonah out. God gives Jonah a second chance to go to Ninevah and deliver a message. 

    Jonah's message to the Ninevites was that their city would be destroyed in 40 days. Upon hearing this message, everyone in Ninevah fasted and repented from their evil ways of living. This led to God relenting from destruction and giving the Ninevites a second chance as well. Our God truly is a God of second chances, ones that we don't deserve. That is God's loving nature. It speaks to what Jesus says in John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". God have His Son because He loves us and wants us to save us. What it does mean for us is that we each have to come to Him and accept Christ into our life as our Savior. God didn't extend Jonah and the Ninevites grace and mercy until they repented (which was up to them). Likewise, we only receive God's grace and eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ, an offer that is open to us all. 

We're Sometimes Blind to God's Grace

    One thing that was really convicting for me when reading Jonah is that I can relate to him and his disobedience and overall attitude. Jonah was upset that God relented from destroying Ninevah after they repented, something he knew God would do. Jonah knew that God is gracious, merciful, and compassionate. I hate saying this, but I know there have been times I've felt the way Jonah did: upset or disappointed that someone else was extended grace or mercy. After all, since they made mistakes or messed up, do they really deserve grace or a second chance? Another fact in these emotions is when we compare ourselves to the people receiving that grace. How come everything gets to work out for them? 

    The thing about Jonah here is that he was blind to God's Grace. Jonah was upset that God gave Ninevah a second chance...which is exactly what God gave him when he was in the fish. Jonah enjoyed God's grace when it benefitted him but disliked it when it benefitted people he despised. Jonah's frustrations are similar to those of the prodigal son's older brother (he was upset that his brother received a feast/celebration after running away from home and squandering his inheritance). This really exposes Jonah's own heart and feelings. He wasn't happy that the Ninevites came to the Lord and changed their ways of living. He was focused on the second chance they got that he didn't think they deserved. When people come to the Lord and accept Christ into their lives, we should rejoice with them, not be angry at them. After all, there was rejoicing in Heaven when we accepted Christ into our own lives.

Don't Miss the Purpose God Has For You

    The musical number in the VeggieTales movie begins with "Jonah was a prophet (ooh ooh), but he really never got it (sad, but true)". What's so tragic about Jonah's story is that God had a purpose for him that Jonah never fully realized or understood. God worked through Jonah to save Ninevah (120,000 people), as well as the mariners on the ship to Tarshish. Think about that: God used Jonah to save over 120,000 people, but Jonah didn't seem to care. It is incredibly humbling when God uses us to bring 1 person to the Lord, I can only imagine how humbling 120,000 people would be. Because Jonah never "got" it, he missed out on what God was doing in his life, as well as everyone else's. And Jonah could have done so much more after his message to the Ninevites, yet he decided to do nothing and see what their fate would be from afar. 

    God has a purpose for each and every one of us, and it's one that goes well beyond waiting to see what happens to others. God wants us to live out our faith and put it to work, not just sit around and do nothing. God can use each and every one of us to do some amazing things, but sometimes we lose sight of that because we get caught up in our pride, feelings, or trivial things of this world that don't matter. Failing to see what God does in our lives and what God does in the lives of others through us truly is tragic. God can call us to great positions of influence and leadership, but if we never "get" what God's purpose is for us there, it will be a tragedy for us just as it was for Jonah. 

Conclusion

    Jonah's a unique book of the Bible given the way that it ends. The story simply ends with a dialogue between Jonah and the Lord, juxtaposing the Lord's compassion with Jonah's anger and self-righteousness. It doesn't say what happens to Jonah afterwards or what he does next. While we may not know what Jonah did next, we can look in our hearts and lives and ask ourselves what we should do next.

    In the VeggieTales movie, some of the characters were disappointed about how Jonah's story ended. When one character asks the storytellers what Jonah learned, they tell them the question is not "What did Jonah learn" but "What did you learn?" If you're in need a good (and quick) book of the Bible to go through, I recommend Jonah. I know I learned a lot from it - and you just might, too.