8.26.24

This week we will conclude our series in the book of Jonah, looking at chapter 4. And what we will be asking is: do you REALLY want the love of God in your life? Because the way God expresses his love here for Jonah should give us pause in our assumptions of what that love looks like.

The reason Jonah is so angry here with God is - he doesn’t understand the love of his own God. It frustrates him. It confuses him. Why would he relent from sending judgment on his enemies, when their repentance was not deeply spiritual? Why would he withhold his wrath when they relented of some of their more reprehensible ways, but still didn’t turn their hearts to the true God? Why?

And God responds by saying, “Jonah, I don’t understand YOUR love!” You love your comfort more than you love these people! And you think I love you because you’re somehow more ethnically pure. You think I love you because you’re my prophet to my people. You think I love you because you’re not part of those evil and vile Ninevites. And you’re dead wrong!

And so this week, what we want to do is to ask ourselves: just how does the love of God actually work? How does it operate? How does it function? Because if you’re like Jonah, your definitions of how God should express his love to you are often radically different than what we experience. He lets bad things happen to us that we don’t like. He withholds things from us that appear to be good and beneficial. And he doesn’t provide and protect us from all the things we think we most need.

And so God addresses our confusion here by showing us what his love really looks like. But before we get into any of the specifics of what that looks like, begin this week by asking yourself: “What do I think the love of God toward me ought to look like?” Be honest with that answer. And then allow God to redefine that answer for you as we move through the week