A Reluctant Messenger

Hate is such a strong word. Let’s just say that there were some people that I “strongly disliked” during my elementary and junior high years. “Seth” was an older bully who rode my bus and occasionally pushed me aside in the pulsating hallways of South Miami Middle School. I learned to keep a sharp eye out for him (among others) and tried to be proactive in staying out of arms reach. He was pretty big (even by middle school bully standards) so he was easy to spot from a distance.

In a previous blog, I wrote about “Antonio” and my anger which one day melted into pity.

There was one kid in elementary “Michael” (who looked a lot like David Hasselhoff) who would try to make my life miserable as well. Years later, I was shocked to see him at my church. I gave him the finger behind his back in the lobby of Saint Timothy’s Catholic Church, an action that resulted in a stern lecture from my brother about propriety in church.

“Ralph” was by far the worst. He was a seventh grader who had developed about two years ahead of the rest of us. He had light blue eyes, spiked hair and a mullet. He was a royal jerk. He never physically beat me up, but he never lost an opportunity to ridicule or put me down.

I hated him.

I still have my middle school yearbook with his picture crossed out. I dreamed of ways that I could get back at him and even the score.

I never had the opportunity (thank goodness) to carry any of these plans out, because after middle school I never laid eyes on him again.

But what if I did?

I think I know what Jonah might have felt like.

Jonah is widely known as a prophet who was swallowed whole by a large fish. But the reason he was in the fish to begin with is a tale that is not often told.

God told him to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, to foretell their destruction. You see, the Assyrians were barbaric (even by those days’ standards) and had caused great misery to the people of Israel. Jonah hated these people so much that he refused to share the message for fear that they might change their ways and be spared.

He WANTED to see them get punished, but God had other plans.

What people in your life have caused you so much pain that even the thought of forgiving them makes you sick? Does this anger that you hold onto hurt them or you more?

Joe

Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jonah Chapter 1
The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish.

But the LORD hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”

Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?” Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”

The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the LORD. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?” “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”

Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the LORD, Jonah’s God. “O LORD,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O LORD, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”

Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the LORD’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Now the LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

NLTse