The story of Jonah is one of our most beloved narratives from all of the Old Testament. It is such a memorable story, so unique among all the others we read in the Bible, and so full of easy-to-grasp lessons. All of which, of course, makes it the perfect Vacation Bible School story and lesson for kids. But it’s not just for kids—it’s for all of us. There is so much from the story of Jonah for us to learn and benefit from. Throughout the short book, we watch as the prophet goes from being reluctant to repentant to renewed to resentful* and the message for us is clear: don’t resent God’s grace that he shows to others, no matter how undeserving we think they are.

At first, Jonah was reluctant to obey the Lord. God told him to go to Nineveh but he ignored God. (Jonah 1:2). He tried to flee from the presence of the Lord (1:3), something that he would learn is impossible to do. While Jonah was fleeing he ironically said, “I fear the LORD, the God of heaven…” (1:9) when he was in fact actively running away from God. Then in chapter 2, Jonah was repentant. Apparently a few days in the stomach of a huge fish has a way of getting your attention and changing your perspective on life. In that gross environment, Jonah repented and prayed to God: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD” (2:9). After his repentance, Jonah was renewed in chapter 3 and given a second chance to obey. This time, he did as he was instructed. He went to Nineveh, preached the message that God gave him to preach, and witnessed an incredible change of heart among the wicked Ninevites who repented and humbled themselves before God.

Jonah got off to a rocky start but he repented of his reluctance and God used him to save many many people from destruction. But his story ends with a twist. In chapter 4 we see that Jonah, far from pleased with the repentance of the Ninevites, was actually resentful that they were spared the destruction he felt they deserved. Jonah was resentful that God was so gracious towards these wicked (but now repentant) people. The book closes with this rhetorical question from the Lord: “Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons…? (4:11).  If we resent God’s grace shown to other people, we have lost sight of souls. And when we lose sight of souls, we lose sight of God. This week, ask God to open your eyes to the souls around us who need the Lord. And may God help us, when they repent and find his grace, to remember that we need his grace just as much as they do.

(*I’m indebted to Bud Woodall for this outline of the book of Jonah)

One cloudy day last week, I was staring out the window, watching it rain. The skies were fairly overcast, but there was a thin spot in the clouds that appeared in front of the sun. I know you’re never supposed to look at the sun, but the clouds were just thick enough to prevent my eyes from being fried and just thin enough to let a bright patch of light through. There was just enough light beaming through to remind me of the powerful sun behind those clouds, and it came through the little tunnel-like hole in the clouds and pierced the dreary sky. I stared at it, captivated by the contrast of light and darkness.

In that moment a thought struck me: Is this what it will look like when Jesus returns? What will that moment be like when the whole world stops what it’s doing to look up at the sky and sees the glory of the Son of God piercing the sky? What will we think? What will we say? What will that trumpet sound like when it’s blown to signal the end of time and the dawn of eternity? What will each heart feel when the realization rushes in and floods each corner and crevice of your soul that the God of the universe has come to make himself unmistakably known? What will it be like to be arrested by the overwhelming sense of awe at the glory of the Son of God?

Then as quickly as it had formed the clouds shifted again, and just like that it was gone. The light vanished, and the skies were the usual grey that they are during rain showers. 

Make no mistake about it, the moment when Jesus returns will not come and go so inconsequentially as a thin spot in the clouds above the earth. That moment will change everything. It will signal that the time of testing and preparation is over. The thousands of years of God’s activity on earth—the calling of Abraham, the choosing of Moses, the formation of a people, the rise of a kingdom, the ministry of the prophets, the birth of a certain Jewish boy in the city of David, his ministry and self-sacrifice, the birth and establishment of a fledgling new faith community, years of worship and struggle and failure and renewal by generations of that community—it will all culminate in that moment when God completes the plan he formed before time began and invites his people into his very presence. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

We spend a lot of time thinking about how to use the time we have. We plan out our day for tomorrow, we plan vacations for the future, we look forward to the weekend when we can hopefully slow down a little, and we look forward to retirement when we’ll have more time. Time, time, time. Time is one of the most precious things given to us, and how we use our time says a lot about us. Sometimes time flies, other times it drags, but always it marches on. My grandmother was fond of saying, “Time waits for no man.” So given that we only have so much time in this life, it’s all the more important to use it wisely.

What do you want to do with your time? I love the words from Psalm 84:10–11 that say “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” These verses remind us that where we spend our time is more important than any self-satisfaction we may derive from personal pursuits. In a world where status is coveted, we ought to intentionally step away from the noise occasionally to be still and to consider the fact that a day in the courts of God is better than a thousand—a thousand anywhere else, spent any other way. And to be a doorkeeper—the lowest of the low among His servants—is better than the highest honor among the tents of wickedness. Where would you rather be? How would you rather spend your time? Can you say with the Psalmist you would rather be a servant in His house? 

Hundreds of years after the Psalmist wrote these words, Paul told the Ephesians to be wise and thoughtful about how they conducted their lives, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16). The best use of our time is any time spent in service of the Lord. Whether it’s having a Christlike attitude at work when you’d rather not, or making a meal for someone, or doing something kind for a stranger, any time that we use to serve the Lord by serving others is time well spent. 

How do you spend your time? Where do you spend your time? Let’s not spend our time among the tents of wickedness. Today, let’s commit to spending our time wisely, to live in His presence, and to come into his courts in prayer. As we do that, we can rest in his promise that he will not withhold any good thing.

This summer we started a small garden in our backyard. We have tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, and carrots. Almost daily there are noticeable changes in the plants: new branches, new flowers, and even some itsy-bitsy zucchinis forming. There is a certain sense of mystery and wonder in the simple act of growing a garden. It is a fairly predictable process—put seeds/seedlings in soil, water regularly, weed, wait for harvest—but at the same time it is anything but ordinary. We actually have zero control over the amazing processes going on in those plants. All we can do is manipulate some of the conditions. We plant and water and tend, but that is only a partial explanation of the results. We provide the right conditions and seemingly magically, the little seeds that looked so lifeless become a living, growing thing. They take carbon from the air, and water and nutrients from the soil and produce delicious and nutritious things for us to eat. The plant life that God has created is nothing short of a miracle.

Paul used plant growth as an analogy for understanding spiritual growth of Christians. When he wrote to the Corinthians, he rebuked them for the way they were dividing into groups based on a preference for certain Christian leaders. They were saying things like, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas” (1 Cor. 1:12). He told them that their behavior in this regard indicated that they were immature in their faith (1 Cor. 3:1). What they needed was to realize that it doesn’t make you more special than other people if a great Christian evangelist or teacher was the one who taught you the gospel. “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:5-7).

While we can and should honor Christian leaders for their work and faithfulness (1 Thess. 5:12), we must remember that it is God who ultimately gives the growth. The power is not in humans, it is in God and in his word. When you help others grow spiritually, remember that we just plant and water. God gives the increase. As a church, let us plant the seed of the word—deep in our own hearts and in the hearts of children and grandchildren, coworkers and neighbors, the mailman, the cashier, the barber, the hair stylist, and everyone else we know. Let us water it with prayer, meditation on the word, fasting, and worship. And let us trust that God will give the growth.