Fish Story (Part IV)- Overboard

Note- This is the fourth and final installment in a series on the book of Jonah that we walked through as a Student Ministry last month.  This little book, tucked away in an obscure corner of the Old Testament, has encouraged, challenged, and disturbed me thoroughly over the past several weeks, and I felt compelled by the Father to share some of these simple but powerful truths with a broader audience (i.e. you!).  I pray God uses it to shake you up as you seek to follow Him.


Have you ever met someone who was just a bit much, perhaps even to the point that it made you a bit uncomfortable?  Maybe it's a teacher who is just a little too excited about their class, a sports fan that cares about his or her team's fortunes just a bit too passionately, or an individual who is just slightly too nice to actually be human.

I've encountered- or been- one of these people from time to time over the years.  A few examples...

• I had a high school teacher, the aptly named Mr Fleming, who loved science (and himself, apparently) so much that he called his classes "Flemistry" and "Flysics"
• I have a friend and ministry partner named Bob whose high energy niceness is so disarming that I'm still suspicious there may be some sort of robotic force at play in his mind
• I used to be a pretty passionate sports fan, but while I still love the games, I fear I may be losing my edge (or maybe just maturing :)) as a fan, as an elderly woman sitting next to me at last week's LSU game implored me more than once to "show some life"

Let's face it- In our "too cool for school" culture, people who go "overboard" about their passions tend to stick out like a sore thumb.  As we look back over the whole of the book of Jonah, we find that God is the sorest of these sore thumbs, going absolutely to the extreme in His love for, and pursuit of, us.  As we come to the final leg of our journey in Jonah 4, this radical reality begs the question- How should we respond to God's passion for sinful people?  Or perhaps more accurately, How shouldn't we respond?  Let's revisit the story once more to find our answers.

As compelling (and at times, just plain weird) as Jonah 1-3 are, in many ways they follow a fairly sensible script for a story.  God calls Jonah to do something crazy...Jonah flips out and runs in the opposite direction...God brings him back and offers him a second chance...Jonah accepts and sees God work through him in a powerful way.  Looks like we're tracking toward a nice, happy ending here, right?  But much like a movie whose resolution comes just a few too many minutes from the closing credits, Jonah's apparently happy ending takes an ugly turn in its closing chapter.  And it's right here that the book goes from compelling to downright convicting.

In my opinion, there's no more shocking verse in all of Jonah than 4:2.  Right here, on the heels of Jonah's obedience, the Ninevites' repentance, and God's gracious response, Jonah is furious.  He essentially says to God, "I knew it!  I knew you were so loving, gracious, and compassionate that if those people turned to you, you would save them."  In short, Jonah was highly offended by God's grace.  After this little tantrum,  he storms out of the city to pout.  It's right here that God decides to show Jonah the ugliness of his heart.  God sends a vine to shade Jonah from the brutal heat, then takes it away, only to see Jonah throw a second tantrum.  And then, in 4:10-11, God drops the hammer, revealing the depth of Jonah’s sin and selfishness in the face of God’s love.  The book ends on a haunting note- "Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

It's easy to read that text and think to ourselves, "How dare he...?"  But before we point the finger too hastily, perhaps we ought to look at ourselves and ask, "How dare we...?"  Truth be told, far too many of us are far too much like Jonah far too often.  Just like our "hero," we mistakenly believe that we are above God's love and others are beneath it.  For whatever reason, we are convinced that we're entitled to it and others are excluded from it.  Both of these attitudes are deeply offensive to God and damaging to us.

Here's the deal- The love of God is very often bigger than we think it could be and better than we think it should be.  I believe we have a stunning tendency- and the further we get from our conversion, the more susceptible we are to it- to flip the Gospel upside down.  We think, “I’m pretty good, there’s no way God doesn’t love me.  They’re pretty bad, there’s no way God loves them”  The reality is exactly the opposite- We’re all very bad, and that’s exactly why God loves us so very much.  It is only when we get raw and real about our own badness that we open ourselves up to experience God’s goodness.

So what do we do about this?  How can we avoid the sinful and selfish attitude that Jonah displayed in this text?  I see two things- Think less of ourselves, and think more of God.  When I say “think less of yourself,” I don’t mean think less of your value, dignity, etc…I mean your goodness.  I think one of the primary reasons Jonah was so offended at God’s grace is that it leveled him with the despised Ninevites.  But here’s the thing- God isn’t comparing our goodness to anyone else’s, but to His.  And no matter how good we might be in comparison to the world around us, we can’t stand up next to His perfection.

But it’s not enough just to think less of yourself…you have to think more of God.  The foundational reality of the Gospel is this- You’re not awesome…but God is.  When we see God’s love as bigger and better than we could ever ask or imagine it to be, we find hope and help that we never thought possible, not only for us but for everyone else in this sin sick world.  God’s love is “overboard,” but that shouldn’t make us uncomfortable or angry…it should make humble and grateful.

It's interesting to look back at the final verses of Jonah's story and see where he and the Ninevites sat in relationship to God.  The latter- drenched in sin, but fully aware of it- were reveling in a brand new experience of God's love, grace, and forgiveness, while the former- who of all people, should have known better- was pouting outside the city, drowning in bitterness over this same experience.  There are very few places in the Bible where we see the polarizing nature of God's "overboard" grace in such vivid terms. 

As we close out our journey through Jonah, consider this question- How am I responding to the relentless love, grace, and compassion of God toward me, and toward others, even others whom I may consider "unworthy" of it?  Be honest with God and with yourself about this, and ask Him to enable you to express grace to the same degree that you've experienced it.  Here's the reality- If it's gotten into you, it can't help but get out of you.  I challenge you to go as "overboard" in your love for and grace toward others as God has gone in His love for and grace toward you.  That's what "fishing" is all about...

Fish Story (Part III)- Take Two

Note- This is the third installment in a four part series on the book of Jonah that we walked through as a Student Ministry last month. This little book, tucked away in an obscure corner of the Old Testament, has encouraged, challenged, and disturbed me thoroughly over the past several weeks, and I felt compelled by the Father to share some of these simple but powerful truths with a broader audience (i.e. you!).  I pray God uses it to shake you up as you seek to follow Him.

If you're anything like me, you can readily identify with a guy like Jonah.  Like most of us, he is a mixed bag of emotions, attitudes, and actions, fluctuating with alarming regularly between humble, heartfelt obedience to God and outright rebellion against His decrees.  Jonah 1 brings us "bad Jonah," desperately on the run from a God that He just can't escape.  Jonah 2, on the other hand, brings us "good Jonah," crying out to God in worship as he sits helplessly in the belly of a "great fish."  


The close of these second chapter provides us with one of the most graphic pieces of good news you'll read anywhere- "And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land."  And thus begins "take two," both for Jonah and for the wicked inhabitants of the city to which God had called him.  If Jonah 3:1 reads strikingly like Jonah 1:2, it's because it is.  Despite Jonah's attempt to trash God's mission to Nineveh, the plan hasn't change...not a bit.  What happens next, however, is drastically different.


I have to be honest with you here.  Jonah 3 is at once the most boring and beautiful chapter in this little book.  The happenings are rather straightforward...

• Jonah obeys God's command.  He goes to Nineveh, calls its people to turn from their wickedness to God's righteousness.
• The Ninevites listen to Jonah's message.  They repent of their wickedness and cry out to God for mercy.
• God relents from sending His wrath and instead offers compassion.

No escape attempts...no storms at sea...no "great fish" this time.  Just obedience, repentance, and restoration.  On the surface, it seems rather anticlimactic, especially in light of the earlier intrigue. 

But if you'll take a second, closer look, you'll find that the sequence of events described here is anything but routine.  Quite the opposite!  It's groundbreaking, earth shattering, I-can't-believe-what-I'm-reading good news for any and all of us who have found ourselves to be anything less than deserving of the love, mercy, and grace of a holy God.

At the most basic level, this is a story about second chances...radical second chances.  Jonah- he of "God, you crazy" fame- gets one.  Perhaps even more astoundingly, the Ninevites- a people of near-legendary evil- get one too.  In both cases, they take it full on.  And just in case there is any lingering doubt about the trustworthiness of God, He delivers on His promises to both, using Jonah mightily and sparing Nineveh in the process.

No matter who you are, where you've been, or what you've done, God is a God of radical second chances.  Honestly, though they aren't unlimited (at some point, judgment will come), He very often offers more than just two.  It's vital to recognize that this says far more about God than it does about you and me.  God isn't sitting in heaven trying to figure us out; rather, He's revealing Himself to us in different ways so that we might, by His grace, finally figure Him out (insofar as that is possible for us :)).  He is pursuing us in love not because He just can't seem to catch us, but instead because His character compels Him to do so.

The compassion of God so often shows up in places and among people that we never thought possible.  It did for Jonah...it did for the Ninevites...it did for me...and it can for you too.  Don't ever believe the lie that you've done too much, gone too far, or somehow let God down; you were never holding Him up anyway.  He loves you as you are, because of who He is.  Will you allow Him to initiate a "take two" moment in your life?

Fish Story (Part II)- Gut Level

Note- This is the second installment in a four part series on the book of Jonah that we walked through as a Student Ministry last month.  This little book, tucked away in an obscure corner of the Old Testament, has encouraged, challenged, and disturbed me thoroughly over the past several weeks, and I felt compelled by the Father to share some of these simple but powerful truths with a broader audience (i.e. you!).  I pray God uses it to shake you up as you seek to follow Him.

At the close of Jonah 1, we left our "hero" (using that term very loosely) sitting in the stomach of what the Bible describes as a "great fish," swimming- quite literally- in the correction of a God that he couldn't escape.  Upon receiving his marching orders to the wicked city of Nineveh, Jonah took off in the opposite direction, running defiantly from God's call with passion and purpose.  

Despite his best (or is it worst?) efforts, he finds that just can't get away.  Running from the call of God ran him smack dab into the middle of the correction of God, initially in the form of a frightening storm, and ultimately in his forced relocation to his new underwater "home."  God has successfully regained Jonah's attention.  And now, he speaks.  What he says is both enlightening and empowering as you consider your own response to the discipline of God in your life.

Correction is a strange animal.  It can be simultaneously frustrating and freeing, possessing a profound propensity to both drive away and draw together.  Never has this reality been more clear to me than in my newfound role as a father.  Though there are admittedly plenty of times when I would like to believe my children are perfect, the reality is, even at a young age, they have a habit of occasionally showing their sinful cards, at which point I am compelled to exercise some fatherly discipline.

Though they been limited to only a handful up to this point, my disciplinary interactions with my daughter have revealed a strange and surprising connection between correction and comfort, one that extends well beyond human relationships to include our connection to the divine.  The sequence usually goes something like this...

• Tristin does wrong.
• Tristin receives correction from Todd.
• Tristin is upset by said correction from Todd.  Tristin cries.
• Tristin reaches out to Todd for comfort in the midst of correction.  Tristin is calmed.

What is it about the relationship between myself and my daughter that causes her to run to me for comfort even as I am disciplining her disobedience?  I suspect that the answer has something to do with trust and security.  My daughter recognizes that my correction of her is evidence of my love for her.  Even in her little one year mind, she somehow trusts my heart toward her even when she does not appreciate my actions.  And besides, where else is she going to run?  It is my role as her father that affords me the right and the ability to both correct and comfort.

Now, let's revisit Jonah's story and connect the dots of the principle into your relationship with God.  There's a sense in which the correction of God is the perfect backdrop for the comfort of God.  Much like Tristin with me, when you find yourself in the midst of His discipline, you have a choice to make- you can run to Him, or you can run from Him.  But in choosing, consider this question- If you choose the latter, where else are you going to run?

Jonah, fortunately, chose wisely.  Jonah 2 records his raw, honest, "gut level" prayer from the belly of that fish.  He acknowledges his own sin, receives God's correction in the midst of it, then turns to Him for comfort in his distress.  What's amazing is that despite Jonah's sour attitude and defiant actions up to this point, He finds that God hears and responds graciously.  The comfort of God is available even in the correction of God.  God responds favorably to Jonah's humble plea and commands the fish to "vomit" him onto the dry land.  Gotta love that imagery :).

What's even more significant about Jonah's prayer is the way in which he speaks to God about God.  By Jonah's own admission, God has just "hurled him into the deep"...and yet instead of bitterness, Jonah offers up expressions of praise and thanksgiving.  He has confidence in the trustworthy character of God, even in the midst of a dark and desperate situation.

This text teaches us something huge about the way you and I ought to respond to the correction of God, and even more so about the profound security that we possess in connection to Him.  Notice that while Jonah's relationship with the Father was damaged by his disobedience, it was not destroyed.  God still wanted something to do with him.  Be encouraged by the truth that if you are "in Christ," He feels the same about you.  

When you find yourself in a season of self-inflicted suffering, receive God's correction in your life...then run to Him for His comfort.  Pretending everything is alright when you are sitting in the proverbial "belly of a fish" will do you no favors; it will simply isolate you and alienate you further in your relationship with the only One who can make things right again.  God desires your "gut level" honesty today.  Besides, being God, He already knows your heart.  No matter how far you've fallen, He's not finished with you yet.  Will you run to Him today rather than running from Him?  

Fish Story (Part I)- The One That (Almost) Got Away

Note- This is the first installment in a four part series on the book of Jonah that we walked through as a Student Ministry last month.  This little book, tucked away in an obscure corner of the Old Testament, has encouraged, challenged, and disturbed me thoroughly over the past several weeks, and I felt compelled by the Father to share some of these simple but powerful truths with a broader audience (i.e. you!).  I pray God uses it to shake you up as you seek to follow Him.


A few weeks ago, I went fishing.  With only a few casts into the small pond at my childhood home to my credit, it would be quite the understatement to say I lack experience in this arena.  Truth be told, prior to this trip, I fonud myself far less concerned about actually catching fish and far more so about not catching anyone or anything else.  I'm proud to report that my trip was a resounding success in this regard.

This, however, would be one of the few successes of our two day excursion into the coastal marshes of south Louisiana.  With the exception of one lone victim, the fish population in these waters treated me like the novice that I am, taking advantage of my lack of experience (and skill, apparently) to gain a hearty meal of shrimp and minnows and, undoubtedly, a healthy laugh at my efforts to hook them.  By the end of our time in the marshes, there was no "one that got away"...there were many.

Incidentally, my initial preparations for the Fish Story series coincided nearly exactly with my little fishing trip.  As I read and read again the words of Jonah, I couldn't help but draw a poignant comparison between my own less than stellar fishing performance and God's absolutely relentless pursuit of the people featured in this little book.  I was struck by the reality that when God goes "fishing," He always gets what He comes for.  There simply is no "one that got away" when it comes to Him.

Consider the two main "characters" in the book of Jonah.  On the one hand we find the book's namesake, a reluctant and self-righteous prophet.  And on the other we find the Ninevites, a group whose wickedness had risen to heaven like a stench in the nostrils of God.  And yet, from the very beginning, despite their considerable shortcomings, we find God relentless pursuing right relationships with both.  In both His love and His justice, God is unstoppable.

God goes after Jonah first.  His instruction is clear- Go to Nineveh.  Warn them that unless they turn from their wickedness, my judgment is on its way.  However, if they will turn to me, I will relent.  God's command was direct...and so was Jonah's disobedience to it.  Upon receiving God's call, Jonah takes off in the opposite direction from Nineveh, hopping on a ship to Tarshish and hoping against hope that God will find someone else to be His mouthpiece to the hated Ninevites.

But God keeps coming.  En route to Tarshish, Jonah and his shipmates find themselves caught in a wicked storm, facing down the prospect of an almost certain death.  Jonah knows what's up, and in a sudden moment of compassion, he implores the ship's crew to toss him overboard in an effort to save themselves.  The utter desperation of Jonah's disobedience is seen most clearly here; He would rather die than go to Nineveh.


But once again, God won't let him off the hook that easily.  Tossed into the raging sea, Jonah is "caught" by what the text simply describes as a "great fish."  And at the close of Jonah 1, that's where we find our "hero"- sitting undigested in the belly of a big fish, wondering why on earth He can't get away from a God he wants absolutely nothing to do with.  God simply won't let him die in his rebellion, and He is more than willing to resort to unconventional methods to accomplish His purpose in this regard.  No one ever said God was boring :).

There's an incredibly valuable spiritual gem in this strikingly odd turn of events.  Running from the call of God means running into the correction of God.  Much like Jonah, we often mistakenly believe that we can outrun (or at least outsmart) God and find our way to greener (and more comfortable) pastures.  But no matter how many times we attempt to escape Him, we find we can't...we simply encounter Him in a much different (and often, much more unpleasant) way.  In both His love and His justice, God is relentless, and the choice of which way we experience Him is ours.  Avoiding Him simply isn't an option that He has placed on our table.

Are you attempting to run from the call of God on your life right now?  Has He has called you to step out in faith in some way, to leap into the unknown and experience His grace and strength in an unbelievable way?  Maybe that means being a relentless parent to a rebellious child, taking a moral or ethical stand at work that could cost you professionally, or stepping into an unfamiliar and uncomfortable corner of the world's brokenness with the love and grace of Jesus.

Whatever the specifics of that call may be, I implore you not to run from it.  God loves you way too extravagantly to simply let it go.  Wherever you try to run, however you try to hide...He'll find you, and He'll do whatever it takes to draw you back to Himself and His purposes.  Embrace obedience today, even in the hard places, and fall on His grace and strength to carry you through to blessing.

The Fix

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work…2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

These two verses represent the Bible’s clearest and most direct description of itself- what it is, where it came from, and what it’s good for.  It’s an old Sunday School staple that I first encountered at an early age and have had stored away in the memory bank for years now.  But last week, God- as He is often apt to do- opened the eyes of my heart to this truth in an entirely new way.

The Bible can be legitimately described in several distinctive ways- the revelation of God, the story of redemption, even the uber cheesy guidebook for living.  But what about Scripture as a mechanic?  A strange image, I admit, but one that I’d argue is entirely appropriate.

Beyond the bare bones basics, I’m fairly clueless about cars.  Some might even argue I barely know how to drive one J.  I can generally identify when something is wrong with my vehicle, but with very few exceptions, I have no clue how to make it right.  God knows this well, though, and the way I see it, this is why He gave me a skilled, trustworthy mechanic.  Time and again, he has diagnosed my problem thoroughly, fixed it fully, and gotten me back on the road safely in short order.  He has even gone so far as to help me avoid the same problem again in the future.  Truth be told, apart from him or someone like him, I’d be in bad shape.

As we all well know, our cars aren’t the only things in life that are prone to breakdowns.  Often, we experience deep struggles in our families, our workplaces, our finances, and even in our relationships with God.  If you’re anything like me, these breakdowns often leave you with far more questions and answers, unsure of where things went wrong and how to make them right again.

This is where, according to 2 Timothy, the Bible does some of its best work.  The Bible is God’s Word.  According to 2 Timothy, it was literally “breathed out” by our holy, perfect Creator, and as a result is perfect itself.  As such, it is incredibly “useful” to us, particularly when life blows up or breaks down around us.  These verses teach us that Scripture works on our lives much like a mechanic does our cars.  It does so in four specific, progressive ways…

·         It teaches us what is right

·         It rebukes us when we go wrong

·         It corrects us, helping us to get right again

·         It trains us in righteousness, enabling us to avoid going wrong again

How often do we remain broken down in life because we refuse to put ourselves under the authority of God’s Word, allowing it to teach us what’s right, rebuke and correct what’s wrong, and train us to walk in righteousness for the long haul?  God knew what He was doing when He gave it to us.  We would do well to embrace its “usefulness” and experience the “fix” that God so desires to apply to the broken places in our lives.

So…read your Bible today.  And tomorrow.  And the day after that.  The more you do, the less time you’ll spend on the side of the road.