Last night we finished our series on the book of Jonah, and we learned some ugly things about the character of this well-known prophet. He’s petty; he’s vindictive; he feels entitled and superior to others.

It’s easy to pick out Jonah’s faults. After all, he’s got plenty of them, and they’re nicely laid out for us in four chapters. What is far more difficult, however, is being honest enough to see ourselves in Jonah’s story. Granted, we haven’t been puked up by a giant sea monster or brought the capital of a world empire to its knees in repentance, but we have resisted God’s direction for our lives. We have felt arrogance and unkindness toward others. We have resented God’s mercy on those people we don’t like, while expecting it in our own lives.

Jonah’s story is so powerful, not because of the immense imagery and supernatural events such as an immediately calmed storm and a sea monster capable of keeping a man alive in its belly for three days. It’s so powerful, not because of the instantly changed hearts of the Ninevites or the symbolism of Jonah’s fish with Jesus’ grave. It is powerful because it is our story. We read Jonah, and we scorn the willful blindness of this disobedient prophet, until the Holy Spirit graciously opens our eyes to the wickedness and rebellion of our own hearts, lining us up next to this selfish, unlearning prophet and showing us that there is not so much difference between him and ourselves.

May we approach this text with the readiness to examine and learn from the faults of God’s prophet, with the honesty to see our own character in his, with the willingness to flee those areas in which we fall short, with the humility to recognize our weakness and accept the help of the only one with any true power, and with the faith to share with Jonah the one thing he got right in the book, recognizing God’s sovereign power in our situation and his role as both source and substance of our only hope.

Matt