Fleeing

A friend and I have just started a study of the book of Jonah. Neither of us has ever really studied this rich book. I must admit that I am getting so much from this book and was amazed as I dug into the first three verses.

1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

In these first three verses we can see so much. Sinclair Ferguson points out that right from the start we see Jonah turning from the word of God and fleeing from the very presence of God. And when you stop to think about it, don’t we all do that? As we sin, aren’t we turning from God, fleeing from God? Tullian Tchividjian says “to flee from God is to rise against God. It is stand-up, straight-out, in-your-face defiance against the One to whom we owe all loyalty and Love. It means insisting that our way of doing things is better than God’s way”. Ouch!

Tullian also uses Moby Dick and the chaplain Mapple to illustrate and summarize. Mapple in his sermon says; “If we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in the disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists.” Isn’t that so true, but so hard to admit.

Our broken natures, our human nature just point to the fact that we are rebels. We are self sufficient, self-centered beings. Abraham Kuyper once wrote; “Our heart is continually inclined to rebel, against the Lord our God. So ready to rebel, that O, so gladly, were it but for a single day, we would take from His hands the reins of His supreme rule, imagining that we would manage things far better and direct them far more effectively than God.”

When we stop and reflect, when we come to terms with our nature, then and only then can we see just how desperate we are, how low, how broken, how in need of saving we are. As we stop and recognize our need, as we begin to turn back toward God there is hope. In Luke 15, we read:

20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

How comforting to know that as we recognize our broken ways we can turn back to God through Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can turn back and know our Father in Heaven is there with Open arms. That as we turn our Father will run to us and we can celebrate!

Father, forgive us as we sin against you. Thank you that although we are dead in our sins, we can be alive in Christ; that though we are lost we can be found! Father, thank you for your grace and your marvelous plan of redemption. Amen!

Grace and Peace!