Rather Be a Sailor

The story of the biblical prophet Jonah is pretty well-known and a lot of you would probably be able to give me the basic plot line if I asked for it. (Running from God, big storm, big "fish", and an important message to deliver.) Some of you might even be able to give me the major lessons we can learn from his story. (Running from God = bad idea, hiding from God = bad idea, rejecting God's will for your life = bad idea.)The story of Jonah is one I've known since I was a little kid. It's so interesting to go back and study it now though because there is so much more happening than just the few basic plot points I mentioned above, or even the few lessons I mentioned. (Part of the problem is that my view of Jonah's story is slightly corrupted by VeggieTales...although, I do love Khalil!) In church today, I was forced to view the story of Jonah a little bit differently as I learned more about his history and the history of the people of Nineveh.Everyone knows that the book of Jonah starts with Jonah ignoring God's instructions to "go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me" (J 1:2). However, I guess I never considered why Jonah was opposed to doing this. Then last night in church the pastor was telling us how awful the Assyrians were and why Jonah wasn't the biggest fan of the people of Nineveh. These people did nasty stuff to the nations they were conquering! If I'm being honest, I don't blame Jonah for running.After considering the fact that Jonah was refusing to share the truth of God's grace and love with the Assyrians, consider what happens in Jonah 1:11-13. At this point, the pagan sailors on the ship, who have been calling out to all sorts of other gods, have realized that Jonah is the reason for the storm. Think about it: these guys had never met Jonah before, do not serve God, and just tossed their entire cargo/profits into the sea. These mariners had every reason to HATE Jonah and want him dead (kinda like he felt about the Assyrians), but their first reaction to realizing the storm is all Jonah's fault was to work their butts off to save him.They had no idea that God had some sort of great fish lined up to swallow Jonah and save him. All they knew was that throwing him overboard like Jonah suggested would essentially be sentencing him to death, and despite all the trouble he had caused them, they still tried to save his life.Matt. 5:44 says, "I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." In 1 Thessalonians 5:15, we are told to "see that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone."I don't know about you, but my initial reaction toward people who hurt me is much more like Jonah's than like the sailors'. I'm much more likely to retaliate or at the very least be rude or unkind to those who have hurt me when I see them, but the sailors had a more Christ-like response.Does God care about our pain? Absolutely! But he also wants us to follow his direction when we are hurt, even when that means loving our enemies.