The story of Jonah is not a story about an unbeliever and God. This is a story about a believer who is having a deep theological debate with God. Jonah believes that God is completely wrong in wanting to save the people of Nineveh, and so he decides that he must disobey God.
But God wants us to have mercy on everyone, not just on those whom we deem worthy. The theme running throughout this story is that God’s great mercy extends to all those who repent. God’s purpose for us is to rediscover God’s vision for the whole creation and understand our own role in carrying out that vision.
God’s vision is that all of creation will experience the “shalom” of love, mercy, justice, and wholeness. How do we distinguish our will from God’s will? Our will may be tied up in petty personal (sometimes nationalistic) prejudices; God’s will is expressed in universal compassion. As Christians, we are to seek out the will of God for our lives and follow it.
This message is excerpted from “Called to obey God,” a 2002 resource of the Women of the ELCA, written by Cynthia E. Cowen.
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