The Point of It All

"But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who can not tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah 4:11

Sometimes I sit and think about the story of Jonah. It is the first bible story that most of young children learn. Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days. To be honest, the story is pretty mesmerizing. Who could ever imagine being thrown overboard and ending up on a three day stay in the fish hotel? Silly right? But when I think about the point of it, that holds the most mesmerizing point of all.

Jonah was really supposed to be on a mission trip, he was instructed by God to go to Nineveh and teach them about the love of God, encouraging them to turn from their evil ways before judgement came. Jonah didn't like the people of Nineveh and he didn't want to go and spread God's message to them, so he headed for Tarshish instead. When he disobedienced, he landed him and the passengers going to Tarshish in a storm, he told them to throw him overboard, suddenly the storm stopped and Jonah had checked into the belly of the fish. But reading the story of Jonah is ultimately a love story. God cared so much for the people of Nineveh and the fact that Jonah was the one that was appointed to bring this message of love that he took Jonah through this experience in order for him to see that he was to go to Nineveh. God's drastic measures to send Jonah to Ninevah in order to turn the people of Nineveh to himself was really the point. The vastness of God's love was seen in this act. His love for them was so drastically real and deep that he would send Jonah to them at any cost. As a result, when Jonah went to Nineveh and did as God commanded, the people turned from their wicked ways, repented before God, and became restored to him, which was the point of it all.

God is crazy about us. He loves us so much that he sends people to spread his message of love to a world that so desperately needs to hear it. His love is endless, he showed us how much when Jesus shattered the darkness of our world with his redemption song. We are loved and that is the point of it all.

Prayer: God, show me the vastness of your love. I want to realize the beauty of it because you went to endless measure to make your love reality. I want to see it in my life and most importantly, let me know and understand that you long to be close to me inspite of the sin in my life. Lord, let your love shine on me. Thank you for it, in Jesus name. -Amen