One of the big themes in Jonah — perhaps the biggest — is our God is an pursuing God. What a wonderful gift to us.
As I take a look back, I see God pursuing me as a child. Even when, it wasn’t always the best motive, I wanted to attend church. I wanted to be part of our youth group. They were my people, my friends. God was pursuing me.
Relatives noticed a bent toward things of God in my life. I remember as a young teen an uncle giving me a small laminated card about the size of a business card with the words of St. Francis of Assisi.
I no longer have that little card, but I wish I did. It’s a piece of my spiritual journey.
And to this day my heart resonates with St. Francis’ prayer.
God pursued me through my Uncle Warren.
In last week’s blog I shared another piece of my story. A piece where I was trying so hard to be a good Christian as an adult serving with a mission organization. After several frustrating years I gave up, tossed that trying overboard and donned the I’m content mask. (If you missed reading it, scroll down.)
Even in my rebellion, God continued pursuing me. Just like he was pursuing Jonah. Just like he was pursuing the pagan sailors on their way to Tarshish. Just like he was pursuing the Ninevites.
Like Jonah’s actions, my actions did not, indeed could not, thwart the good plan of God. God is relentless in his pursuing.
Sally Lloyd-Jones put it this way in The Jesus Storybook Bible, Jonah is having a conversation with God in the beginning of the Jonah narrative. God asks him to go to Nineveh and “tell your worst enemies that I love them. ‘NO!’ said Jonah. ‘Those are bad people doing bad things!’ ‘Exactly,’ said God. ‘They have run far away from me. But I can’t stop loving them.’” (italics and underline mine) God not only was pursuing the Ninevites, he was also pursuing Jonah.
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets
in many portions and in many ways,”
Hebrews 1:1, NASV (italics mine)
God speaks loudly of his pursuing character of love in many ways in the Jonah narrative. He does it through his relationship with Jonah, through his desire for the Ninevites, in his sovereign intervention with the pagan sailors, and in the object lesson God uses to teach Jonah in chapter 4. God is demonstrating once again his rule over creation, his very creative ability to communicate truth, and most of all his pursuing love.
The narrative ends with God asking a pouting Jonah a question about his pursuing love. We don’t know Jonah’s answer. But in his anger, Jonah once again experienced God pursuing him.
The text doesn’t let us know how Jonah responded. What are your thoughts?
But I’m sure, God never stopped pursuing Jonah. God never stops pursuing me and you.
“… for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love …”
Jonah 4:2
Sally Lloyd-Jones puts it this way,
“Even though you’ve run far from God, he can’t stop loving you,”
Amen.
Copyright, Sue Tell, February 2021