Sometimes even a big fish doesn't help

We have been looking at the story of Jonah over the last four weeks at Hype. We have been sharing with the students the same challenges that Jonah himself faced. We talked to them about how hard it is at times to show people God's love when you do not like them. To truly love your enemies as Jesus had commanded us (Matthew 5:44). We showed them how we truly need to continue to be in prayer with God, not just when things go bad, like we see with Jonah in chapter 2. We talked about how important it is to have repentance over our sins as the people of Ninevah. I think about most of our lives and i imagine there are many times we see ourselves very much like Jonah.

The hardest part about the story of Jonah is after he corrected himself before God and goes to preach to his enemies. They are repentant and God spares them from their judgment, yet Jonah is displeased. Here is a moment where he was used by God to change forever the people of Ninevah and yet Jonah hated that they received God's grace. These are the words out of his own mouth, "I knew that you are a graciious and compassionate God, solow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity" and he goes on to say, "Now O LORD take away my life for it is better forme to die than to live.

He would much rather be dead than to see God giving the same love and Grace he had just shown Jonah to people that Jonah hated. How many times are we this way? We love to say we are Christians. We love to boast how long we have followed Christ. We love knowing that God has saved us and has forgiven us, yet we never share this with anybody. We are more concerned about our interest when we go to church or a youth gathering. We are more interested in seeing what God has in store for us instead of how he can use us to change his world.

The Hype does not want to see that from our students. We have designed this ministry so that in the long run as our students come into this ministry and grow through this ministry they understand fully what God has asked them to do, Love Him and Love people (Mark 12) and to tell the World (Matt. 28) so they can make a difference in God's kingdom.