Our Christian community is often characterized with the presence of the minimalist Christian. By that, I mean a Christian who professes their faith but never steps forward to take a stand, nor attempts to speak out against the tyranny of a leftist culture.
In our current age, to speak up brings on the potential to be slapped down by a counter culture that hates Christians, and makes a point of bringing on an attitude of condemnation for anything that is opposed to woke culture. As a result, people do not speak up. When I think about people afraid to speak up, I immediately think of the story of Jonah. In Jonah 1:1, when God called on Jonah to speak up,it says “... Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish… “
My post today is not so much about what followed, but rather – why did Jonah run away? If we can understand his reasons we might understand our own minimalist christian attitudes for today.
Sustainability
Lets look for clues in the text. The first clue is in Jonah 1:5b – “But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.” There is a severe storm raging outside, but Jonah is sleeping through it. Tiredness is an enemy to any endeavor. Our first barrier to being an effective Christian is our body and mindset. When we are tired we are not at our best. When we are tired, we are not able to concentrate well, and any fight is going to be harder than it needs to be.
Psalm 51:12 says “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” More than anything, we need the power of sustainability and willingness to do what the Lord commands. There is an old saying that says ‘the spirit is willing but the body is weak”. God has an expectation that we keep our body in a ready state so that we are ready to act on His behalf. If we are always burning the candle at both ends, we are not at our best and we are not going to be good influencers.
Knowing what to do
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” (Jonah 1:10,11)
It became evident that Jonah was at fault for the emergency that faced the sailors. To their credit, the sailors did no just take matters into their own hands. They asked Jonah what they should do. In our current age, we are surrounded by people who do not know Christ, and do not have guidance on life issues. God has the knowledge of what we can and should do. As Christians we are in the right place to provide answers and guidance to a community of desperate people who may not even know that they need help.
Minimalist response
Jonah knew exactly where the fault was. The problem was hi minimalist response. When God calls on us to do something, the request is not going to fade away. The God’s call will remain, and we will be conscious of the urgency even if we choose to ignore it. If we do nothing, the need continues and it will not go away. As Christians we can choose to go on about our daily business and act like nothing is happening. If that is the case, life may go on and perhaps it looks like nothing has changed for the worse. In reality, a calling from God is not unlike dry-rotting wood. On the surface it does not look bad, but microbes are undermining the structure, and underneath the surface the structure is undermined and can cause permanent damage.
Changed Lives
15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. (Jonah 1:15,16)
It is good to see that the sailors were not uncaring people when it came to circumstance. They did not want to kill Jonah, but God pushed the circumstances in such a way that they had to respond.
For us as Christians, when God calls on us to intervene, we may have no idea of what the outcome will be. We should trust and understand that the circumstance will work out for the good. It is up to God to direct the circumstance and change lives. He will do it.
The story of changed lives started with the sailors but it did not end there. Jonah ended up in the belly of a large fish, and needless to say he was in torment. His physical condition was no longer the most important issue. He repented and realized he needed to follow God’s direction. In Jonah 2:1 Jonah says “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”
There is another thing to learn between the lines here. Jonah did not give up. He did not say “its all over, I am done.” As long as we have breath, we still have a chance to make things right with God.
