Watch/Listen
(Not) Escaping God's Call
Brian Mashburn
October 14, 2018
Audio Player
The "Not Them, Not There" Prophet
I have a Bible reading assignment for you: The book of Jonah. It will not take much, as it is 48 verses long.
Do you remember the story of Pinocchio? Most of us know that his nose grew when he lied, but do you remember that he and his father were in a boat when a storm wrecks it, and a great fish swallows them, and they later emerge unharmed? Crazy! How about the story of Cinderella? In it, decrees of the King are made and royalty interacts with peasantry to affect amazing things. Do you remember the story of Jack and the Beanstalk? It involves a wonder plant that grows miraculously as a central part of the story. Believe it or not, Jonah has all of these exciting elements, so you will not be bored.
You will also not merely be entertained. See, what is absent from all these fairy tales, but everywhere present in the book of Jonah, is the transcendent and omnipotent God directing the action. We can learn something here.
You will meet a man called to a city named Ninevah to preach God's message to the people there. Jonah does not want to go there, and he does not want bless them.
Jonah''s resistance is not unique (in scripture or today), but Jonah takes it all the way to defiance. It is tragic, really, because God''s will gets done (it always does), but Jonah missed out on enjoying it.
Who is God is calling you to? What group of people that are beyond us, beyond here are you being sent to? Will you go? Or will you resist and defy like Jonah, saying, "Sorry, God. Not them. Not there".
I have one more important assignment for you. Read, and then report back, about it, at jonah.southwest.org.