They Might Be Angels

Too often even good stewards of our Lord Jesus Christ have their relationship with God backwards, believing it is they who took the first step to seek God's love and mercy. This kind of thinking is understandable when you consider how many Christian people subscribe to the notion, as a popular bumper sticker slogan states -- "I found Jesus"-- and never consider that maybe the exact opposite is true. Maybe it is God that finds us?

In our modern culture of putting the individual first it is hard to face the possibility that we don't find Jesus. He comes to us and calls us by name, sometimes in our deepest despair, sometimes during our greatest triumphs, then asks us to leave our boat on the shoreline and seek other seas. He will uproot us in times of our own worldly comfort and prosperity to put us upon a different path to do God's work. God will tear us down and challenge us to follow the path God has chosen for us.

"Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time, "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.'"

This time Jonah obeyed the Lord's command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: 'Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!' The people of Nineveh believed God's message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

...When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, He changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction He had threatened."

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Recall the story of Jonah who tries to flee his calling by sailing to another country, but God sends a storm and Jonah gets thrown overboard. He is then swallowed by a giant fish that spits him onto the shore to save him from drowning. It's interesting how God puts Jonah on the right path: a storm to throw him into a raging sea, then a fish swallows him. The images in this story reveal how God works. God's way isn't often easy to understand when the end result is not yet in view.

In anger Jonah carries out his task but hopes the people of Nineveh, the very people God sent him to warn, would ultimately be destroyed. God comes to Jonah again scolding him saying that it was God's desire that all people come to know God.

"This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it: 'Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord! I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.'" (Jonah 4:1-3)

Jonah was right! God is filled with unfailing love, slow to anger, and ready at any moment to save God's people from the storm. It's difficult to understand God's methods -- God's purpose. Who would fully understand a God who works this way? The message is to trust and follow God--to be ready to answer God's call when it comes.

by Bob Chochola

July/August/September 2009 Issue to Feature Presbyterian Women

The July/August/September 2009 issue of These Days will feature devotions from representatives of the Churchwide Coordinating Team of Presbyterian Women. The Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 11-15, and all those attending the event will receive a free copy of the July/August/September issue.