“One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: ‘Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.’ But Jonah got up and went the other direction…”  Jonah 1:1-3  The Msg

When I think of the word “hero”, I don’t typically think of Jonah.  The poor guy gets a bum rap, but he brought that on himself.  He was human, like us, after all.  He faced his share of disappointments, a number of which we can read about in the book named after him in the Bible.

When we first meet him, he has just heard a message from God, the Creator of everything that exists, the Almighty Father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  “Go to Nineveh and tell them they better turn from their wicked ways or it’s ‘hasta la vista baby’ to their entire existence.”  Disappointment #1:  Jonah is given a task he doesn’t like.  Maybe he was hoping God would send him to minister in the luxurious coastal towns of good repute where the people were kind and pleasant.   The Bible tells us that he immediately got up and started walking in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Continue reading →