Back to Jonah again - such a short book and so much in there! There's a verse there that stopped me in my tracks - chapter 1, verse 9. Jonah is in the boat, the storm is raging, the sailors have come to the conclusion that Jonah is the reason for the storm, and they want to know who his god is, which god is it that is doing this and how could they placate him. So they interrogate Jonah: who are you, where do you come from - because in their way of thinking, these questions provide the answer to "who is your god". And Jonah, who I suspect has actually been thinking like that too up to now - why else would he think that getting in a boat and going somewhere far away would be helpful in getting away from God? He obviously hadn't realised the implications of some of the basic facts he'd heard about God, that he is the creator and ruler of the whole world and is not limited to one geographical area. I think this verse marks a turning point for Jonah, when he finds himself telling these guys that his God is "the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land". (I'm using the NKJV here as I feel it's a closer translation from the Hebrew.)
But what was it that stopped me in my tracks? Looking at Jonah's reply: "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Did you notice? He says he fears the LORD, or in other translations: he worships the LORD. (In Hebrew: ואת ה' אלהי השמיים אני ירא)
I look at this sentence and feel like shouting: Jonah, if you fear the LORD, then what are you doing in a boat heading in the opposite direction to where he told you to go?!!!
I kind of think Jonah must have heard himself at that point and realised how ridiculous his behaviour was.
But I wonder whether we sometimes don't realise how ridiculous our own behaviour is, how we are able to say one thing and do another. And part of the issue is: what do we actually mean by the words we say? (That is assuming we mean something by them - it is perfectly possible for people to stand in church every Sunday reciting the creed without actually believing a word of it; or to say prayers in a synagogue just because it's tradition.)
The traditional Christian creed starts with the words "I believe", but these words can mean different things to different people. Every now and again we have surveys published that tell us what percentage of the population say they believe in God, and the percentage sounds quite high until you think: what did these people mean when they said that? Some people would say things like: I believe God exists; I believe someone made this world; I believe someone is watching over us.
Well, how nice. So you believe that God exists. You believe that he made the world. Maybe you even believe he looks after you. Maybe you even believe he might hear the odd prayer you throw in his direction when things are really bad. Is that what faith in God is really about? Is that the kind of "I believe" that God is looking for?
No. The Bible says even the demons believe (James 2:19) - they believe the facts about God, they know very well he exists, but they choose to serve Satan instead.
So what do I mean when I say I believe in God? I mean I trust in him, and choose to serve him and only him.
What do I mean when I say I believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world? I mean I trust that what he did by dying as the ultimate sacrifice is all that is required for my salvation, it's all that is necessary for me to get to heaven when I die - despite all that wrong that I've done - and not just all that is necessary, but the only possible way.
That's what faith is - it's not just believing a set of facts about God, it's taking him at his word, trusting him, and making him my real lord and master because serving him is the only way that makes sense when you know these facts, because he is the only one worth serving, because he deserves everything I've got to give after all he's done for me, because he is so wonderful and amazing that even if he doesn't do anything for me he is still worthy of my thanks and praise and adoration.
I hope Jonah did get the message eventually. I'm very glad God was patient with me until I got the message - took me such a long time, even when I thought I'd got it, even when I was standing in church week after week and saying "I believe". I'd been doing that for over 12 years before I finally came to a real faith. But God is patient, and his love endures forever.
