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...
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