We decided to focus in on Jonah and take it back to the old testament and get a fresh look at the story. While we didn't spend a huge amount of time dissecting the whole book of Jonah nor the passage in Luke, we did harp on one central theme: being open.
The story of Jonah begins with this:
"The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the LORD.." -Jonah 1:1-3
God made it clear to Jonah exactly what he wanted him to do. But Jonah ran away from God. He was not open to what God had for him. And if you continue reading the story Jonah was not open to the Ninevites either. After the city of Nineveh repents and turns towards God, thus saving themselves from God's wrath, Jonah is angry at God's compassion for the Ninevites. Jonah was not open to others (non-Jews) from receiving love, forgiveness, and compassion from God.
(Note: The Ninevites were Assyrians. They were the same people that mixed with the Jews and created what we now know as the Samaritans. We're all familiar with the hatred between Jews and Samaritans. The last blog post, Reciprocity, kind of spells it out a bit. Just trying to make connection between the two.)
Anyways, what we chose to focus on was his unwillingness to be open to God and to others. We read a passage from a book that discussed the importance of being open to God working in our lives.
At the end we were challenged to:
- Open up your mind and your heart.
- Put aside your strong expectations.
- Lay down the arms of your inner violence.
- Give up your set ideas.
- Turn away from your winter worries.
- Let go of your oppressive fears.
- Be willing to be insecure for a while.
- Allow surprise to take over your heart.
i read an article this week that is related to this and i thought was really challenging (link below). i can't talk about this subject enough. i know in my head that following the Lord really is best -- better than whatever plan i can make up on my own. but i cheat on God for security ALL THE TIME. i have faith that he will restore that in me, and all of us!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/21141-the-most-misused-verse-in-the-bible
That passage in Jeremiah definitely comes into new light when put in the context of who it was written to and when it was written. The Israelites are in captivity in Babylon and instead of God giving them a promise of rescue he tells them:
ReplyDelete"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
Then a few verse later he gives them what we all quote about God having plans for them and a future for them.
For me, it gives that verse (jeremiah 29:11) a whole new meaning.