Jonah 1:1-6
One day long ago, God’s word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They are in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.” But Jonah went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish---as far away from God as he could get. But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering. The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What’s this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your God! Maybe your God will see we are in trouble and rescue us.” Jonah 1:1-6 (MSG)
God made his mission for Jonah very clear: “Go to Nineveh and speak the truth to a bunch of sinful people.” Jonah’s solution was very simple: Run from God’s wishes.
So, what does this have to do with us?
Last night I had some struggles with sleep while attempting to figure this one out and then this is what came to me: God has sent us a strong message in Matthew 22:37-40. I am told that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love my neighbor. It is then made clear that everyone is my neighbor. I understand the statement but I really struggle with loving all my neighbors and what loving them means. What about the ones who are not very nice to me? How do I show love to them? What about the ones in prison? How do I show love to them? What about the illegal immigrants? How do I show love to them? Maybe I should see if there is any more room on Jonah’s boat but if we read on in Jonah’s story we find that running from the problem did not work for Jonah and I don’t think it is working for me either. For those of you out there who can help me, please let me know how to love my neighbors.
Questions for Reflection:
- How are you showing love to your neighbor?
- How is it working?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Please help us to understand who our neighbors are and really important let us know how to show our love to the neighbors who are struggling. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen
Login To Leave Comment