Two Types of Runaways
Recently, at The
Worship Center, we studied the story of Jonah in the Old Testament. It’s easy
to see how the disobedient prophet, who travels in the opposite direction from
God’s instructions, is running from God. However, I want to examine a deeper
truth hidden in this story.
We see that the
mariners on Jonah’s ship—the crew sailing to Tarshish—respond to God’s
tumultuous storm by praying to their own gods. The captain tells Jonah to “call
on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish”
(Jonah 1:6). We see that this crew is running from God by means of rebellion: they,
like the Prodigal Son in Jesus’s parable, are disconnected from the true God
altogether. They worship other, false gods, and don’t acknowledge His
authority.
However, we see that
Jonah, one of God’s own people, is also running—he’d tried to do everything
right, and found himself falling short. When he found that he couldn’t obey the
Lord in his own power, the Bible says, “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish
from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a
ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with
them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3).
Many people in the
church today have tried to do everything right—to be enough on their own.
Instead of asking for the Lord’s strength, they run from Him, and hide, when they
find ourselves inadequate.
No matter which camp you fall into—no
matter how you’re running—the story of Jonah shows us that God pursues us. We
see Him rescue Jonah and restore him; we also see God bring the sailors unto
Himself: “Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray,
O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not
charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it
pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and
the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared
the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and
took vows” (Jonah 1:14-16).
Only the Good News of the Gospel sets us
free. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection on our behalf, we have the
assurance that we can make it through the storms of life—not because of what we
do or don’t do, but because of what He already did for us. This grace, this
unconditional acceptance, is granted to undeserving people by an unobligated Giver.
Jonah didn’t deserve a second chance; neither did the crew; however, no matter
how people run away from Him, God pursues them.
Have you been running from God lately, in
either of these two ways? What’s stopping you from trusting God? Your freedom
begins when you turn and accept the unconditional grace that He offers. We all
have the wonderful gift of not having to run anymore, through the life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
