S218P1 – Through the belly of the fish: the call for truth

Jon. 1:1-2

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

She was raised in a godly home where ministry to the lost was of utmost importance.  At school, however, she never really tried to reach anyone for Christ.  She felt like she had enough drama and controversy to deal with during the school day, and she had no desire to share the gospel with those who made her life a daily nightmare.  Then one day, God called her to engage one of her greatest enemies to share his truth regarding the freedom which awaits those who believe in his Son.  It was the first time she ever froze after receiving instruction from God.  Although she desired to obey and please him, she wanted judgement and not mercy to fall on those who had committed evil against her.

Here, Jonah is called the son of truth (Amittai).  When the Lord told him to deliver a message to the people of Nineveh, God was simply asking him to go and share the truth with them.  The problem for Jonah was that this message of doom and gloom was actually meant to bring the people of that city to repentance.  God was being compassionate by providing this warning and allowing those evil people to repent and not be destroyed.  For Jonah, this went against everything he thought was right.  He wanted Nineveh to face judgment for its evil because that was just in his eyes.  However, God had not called Jonah to judge those people just as He does not call us to judge the lost.  He only called Jonah to share a necessary truth with them for his purposes.

When we commit to obeying God, that must be obedience without justification.  He does not need to explain to us his ways.  It is not for God to try to meet our standards of mercy or grace.  His purposes are for us to accept and not to question.  Regardless of whether his message is meant to judge or open the door for repentance, our willingness to deliver that message must be the same.  We are God’s mouthpieces according to whatever purpose his words are meant to accomplish.  Our desire should be that God’s truth would do its work through us, whatever that work might be.  Father, we ask that You use us to share your truth with the world without question or reservation.