Knowing and Loving: Lessons from Jonah's Journey
Summary
### Summary
As we embark on a new ministry year, we express deep gratitude to all volunteers, especially those working with children. Their service is a testament to our commitment to our covenantal vows. We also celebrate the presence of children in our worship, embracing the chaos they bring as a beautiful part of our church life. Today, we begin a 12-week series on the Minor Prophets, starting with Jonah. The central question posed is: Can you know and still love? This question challenges us to consider how increased knowledge about someone or something can make it harder to love them, including our relationship with God.
Jonah's story is a profound exploration of this theme. Jonah, called to preach to the Ninevites, a violent and cruel people, runs away because he knows God’s merciful nature and fears that God will forgive them. Jonah's knowledge of the Ninevites' wickedness and his understanding of God's grace make it difficult for him to love either. Despite his reluctance and poor preaching, the Ninevites repent, and Jonah becomes even more embittered. He sits outside the city, hoping for its destruction, but God teaches him a lesson through a plant that provides shade and then withers. God’s message is clear: His compassion extends even to those we might deem unworthy.
The sermon draws parallels between Jonah's story and our own lives. We often find it hard to love those we know well, whether it's family, friends, or fellow church members. The more we know about their flaws and failures, the harder it becomes to love them. Yet, the call of the Gospel is to love deeply and unconditionally, just as God loves us despite knowing all our shortcomings. This love is not easy; it requires us to move beyond cynicism, stoicism, and escapism, and to engage fully with the world and the people around us.
The story of Jonah ultimately points us to Jesus, who knows us completely and loves us fully. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection demonstrate the depth of God's love for us, a love that does not recoil but moves in to save and transform. As a church, we are called to embody this love, to know and still love, both within our community and in the wider world.
### Key Takeaways
1. The Challenge of Knowing and Loving: The more we know about someone, the harder it can be to love them. This is true in our relationships with family, friends, and even God. Jonah's story illustrates this struggle, as his knowledge of the Ninevites' wickedness and God's mercy makes it difficult for him to love either. We are called to confront this challenge and choose to love despite our knowledge. [45:14]
2. God's Compassion for the Unworthy: Jonah's reluctance to preach to the Ninevites stems from his fear that God will forgive them. This highlights a profound truth about God's nature: His compassion extends to all, even those we might deem unworthy. God's love is not limited by our prejudices or judgments. [48:54]
3. The Cost of Running from God's Call: Jonah's attempt to flee from God's call leads to a series of events that ultimately bring him back to his mission. This reminds us that running from God's call has consequences, and that God will often use our circumstances to bring us back to His purposes. [53:58]
4. The Depth of God's Love in Christ: Jesus' life, death, and resurrection demonstrate the depth of God's love for us. Despite knowing all our flaws and failures, Jesus does not recoil but moves in to save and transform us. This is the model of love we are called to emulate in our relationships and community. [01:08:42]
5. Embracing the Call to Know and Love: As a church, we are called to know and still love, both within our community and in the wider world. This requires us to move beyond cynicism, stoicism, and escapism, and to engage fully with the people and situations around us. It is a difficult but essential part of our vocation as followers of Christ. [01:15:11]
### Youtube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[43:59] - Gratitude for Volunteers
[44:23] - Embracing Children in Worship
[44:44] - Introduction to Minor Prophets Series
[45:14] - Can You Know and Still Love?
[47:03] - Reading from Jonah Chapter 4
[49:23] - About a Boy: A Story of Knowing and Loving
[51:22] - Jonah's Reluctance and Prejudice
[53:58] - Jonah's Flight and God's Pursuit
[55:14] - Jonah's Bad Sermon and Nineveh's Repentance
[56:10] - Jonah's Pouting and God's Lesson
[57:04] - The Challenge of Knowing and Loving
[59:10] - Personal Reflections on Family and Community
[01:03:24] - Jonah's Cynicism and God's Compassion
[01:08:42] - Jesus' Example of Knowing and Loving
[01:15:11] - Embracing Our Vocation to Know and Love
[01:16:26] - Closing Prayer and Call to Action
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
- Jonah 4:1-11
### Observation Questions
1. What was Jonah's reaction to the repentance of the Ninevites, and why was he angry? ([47:03])
2. How did God use the plant to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion? ([48:00])
3. What does Jonah's reaction to the plant's withering reveal about his character and priorities? ([48:54])
4. How does the story of Jonah illustrate the challenge of knowing and still loving? ([57:04])
### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think Jonah found it difficult to love the Ninevites despite knowing God's merciful nature? ([47:28])
2. How does Jonah's story reflect our own struggles with loving those we know well, especially when we are aware of their flaws? ([57:47])
3. In what ways does God's interaction with Jonah challenge our own prejudices and judgments about who is worthy of compassion? ([48:54])
4. How does the story of Jonah point us to the example of Jesus' love and compassion? ([01:08:42])
### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you found it difficult to love someone because you knew too much about their flaws. How did you handle it, and what could you have done differently? ([57:47])
2. Jonah ran from God's call because he didn't want to see the Ninevites forgiven. Have you ever tried to avoid a situation where you were called to show grace? What was the outcome? ([53:58])
3. Think of someone in your life who you find hard to love. What steps can you take this week to show them compassion, even if they seem unworthy? ([48:54])
4. How can you move beyond cynicism, stoicism, or escapism in your relationships and engage more fully with the people around you? ([01:01:37])
5. Jesus knows us completely and loves us fully. How can you emulate this kind of love in your community, especially towards those who are difficult to love? ([01:08:42])
6. Identify a specific way you can embody the call to "know and still love" within your church community this month. What practical steps will you take to make this happen? ([01:15:11])
7. How can you remind yourself of God's compassion and love when you are tempted to judge or withhold love from others? ([48:54])
Devotional
### Day 1: The Challenge of Knowing and Loving
Description:
The more we know about someone, the harder it can be to love them. This is true in our relationships with family, friends, and even God. Jonah's story illustrates this struggle, as his knowledge of the Ninevites' wickedness and God's mercy makes it difficult for him to love either. We are called to confront this challenge and choose to love despite our knowledge. [45:14]
Bible passage:
"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8, ESV)
Reflection:
Think of someone in your life whose flaws and failures you know well. How can you choose to love them more deeply today, despite what you know about them?
### Day 2: God's Compassion for the Unworthy
Description:
Jonah's reluctance to preach to the Ninevites stems from his fear that God will forgive them. This highlights a profound truth about God's nature: His compassion extends to all, even those we might deem unworthy. God's love is not limited by our prejudices or judgments. [48:54]
Bible passage:
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8, ESV)
Reflection:
Identify someone you have judged as unworthy of compassion. How can you extend God's love and compassion to them today?
### Day 3: The Cost of Running from God's Call
Description:
Jonah's attempt to flee from God's call leads to a series of events that ultimately bring him back to his mission. This reminds us that running from God's call has consequences, and that God will often use our circumstances to bring us back to His purposes. [53:58]
Bible passage:
"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29, ESV)
Reflection:
Reflect on a time when you tried to run from God's call. What were the consequences, and how did God bring you back to His purpose?
### Day 4: The Depth of God's Love in Christ
Description:
Jesus' life, death, and resurrection demonstrate the depth of God's love for us. Despite knowing all our flaws and failures, Jesus does not recoil but moves in to save and transform us. This is the model of love we are called to emulate in our relationships and community. [01:08:42]
Bible passage:
"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10, ESV)
Reflection:
Consider how Jesus' love for you, despite knowing all your flaws, can inspire you to love others more deeply. How can you show this kind of love to someone in your community today?
### Day 5: Embracing the Call to Know and Love
Description:
As a church, we are called to know and still love, both within our community and in the wider world. This requires us to move beyond cynicism, stoicism, and escapism, and to engage fully with the people and situations around us. It is a difficult but essential part of our vocation as followers of Christ. [01:15:11]
Bible passage:
"Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18, ESV)
Reflection:
Think about a situation or person you have been avoiding due to cynicism or fear. How can you engage with them in love and truth today?
Quotes
1. "What I want you to hear is that in the Minor Prophets, God is inviting us into this life with him. And he's displaying to us both his tender mercy and his severe mercy so that we might be tethered to him. And so I want to ask you this question and just give you a space to consider it before we read the text. And the question is, can you know and still love?" [45:14] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Jonah is a character like Will. What we discover in this short prophetic book is that the more Jonah knows about the Ninevites, the less he loves them. And the more that he knows about God, his covenant Lord, the less he loves him. And consequently this morning, by the way, perhaps the more we learn about Jonah, the less we tend to love him." [51:22] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Have you ever been nudged to do something nice, kind, to someone who hasn't always been nice or kind to you? And maybe, maybe more specifically, a parent who has misjudged you, manipulated you, hurt you, then made you feel like you are the reason things are so broken? And in that, you feel called to move towards them with, with grace and empathy, with the hope that they might respond in a different way." [52:16] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "The more you know about your spouse, can you still love them? Parents, there's years together, years apart. Knowing what you know, can you still love them? Family life and struggles. After my mom's death, I've been wrestling with my story and my family. Telling the truth and also at the same time honoring them. And it is a painful work." [59:10] (43 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Knowing what you know, can you still love them? When your neighbor's dog wakes you up in the middle of the night and the church and the people in it, they do things you might not like or want. They may fail to meet your expectations. They will fail. They will fail to meet your expectations. And you will fail to meet theirs." [59:37] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "The more Jonah knows, the less he loves. And I think the question is, is this book a book about Jonah, or is it a book about God? Is it a story of us or is it a story of God? Because I think at the baseline of Jonah, the more God knows, the more God loves." [01:04:16] (22 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "The more He knows, the more He loves. Maybe you too are like Jonah. Maybe the more you know about God, the less you're prone to love Him. Maybe from the circumstances of your life, the loss you've suffered, knowing that God is sovereign and providential has caused you in that loss great pain. Maybe you don't like that God is a God of grace, slow to anger, rich in love." [01:06:35] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
8. "God in Christ does not recoil. The more He knows, the more He loves. He enters in. He acts. He knows. He does. He puts on our suffering, our awkwardness. He puts on our stupid, ridiculous soul toupees, our shame, our curse. He puts it all on Him." [01:08:42] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
9. "The Lord knows our hearts. He knows it's sick. He knows it's deceitful. He knows all the private thoughts that we have. He knows how we seek exaltation for men. He knows how self-righteous we are. And yet, He doesn't abandon us. He knows us. And still moves in to help us and save us." [01:09:35] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
10. "Will we move into Winston and the Triad together as a community, as individuals that make up this community, pressing in to know them, their stories, their shames, their soul-tapes, and in that knowing, would we love?" [01:16:26] (16 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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