Jonah Review

I am going to review some of the things I believe we can learn from Jonah.  The first is that God has a purpose for us.  We are not saved to just sit back and watch the world go by waiting to get to heaven.  If salvation is simply a ticket to heaven, then once we are saved, there would be no reason to remain here on earth.  We do have a purpose, though, and that is to witness to the lost and dying world.  Next, we need to realize that God is not going to force us to obey His calling. We can run, just as Jonah did.  It doesn't matter why we run.  When we do, we put ourselves and others at risk.  We don't even have to leave home to run.  Anytime we fail to follow God's will for our life, we are running from Him.  Jonah was still one of God's people, even when he ran, and so are we.  After we are saved, we are God's children forever.  Still, we need to realize that running brings consequences.  It affects not only us, but all those around us.  If we are rebelling against God's call, we cannot be an effective witness for Him.  Our decisions as Christians affect all those around us. Fortunately, as He did with those on the ship, God still waits for them to come to Him and can still reach them through us even if we are running.  We simply have to acknowledge that the one true God is who we serve and that He is in control.  We should never be so full of hate that we don't want certain people saved.  My belief is that God did not call us to be destroyers but witnesses.  We need to witness to the love of God for everyone, not to His love for some and hatred for others.  God loves the vilest sinner as much as the mildest sinner.  We can trust God to meet our needs.  Jonah may not have felt that way in the belly of the whale, but God was saving his life.  Running from God may lead us to some bad situations, but we are still His forever. We simply have to run to Him instead of away from Him.  Finally, we are never justified in being angry when someone is saved, no matter how much we may dislike or hate them.  Again, as followers of Christ, we are to live by His example and reach out to all with the love of the Father.