Dr. Seuss In The Belly Of A Whale

Most of us have heard the story of Jonah.  You know, the old testament prophet that was swallowed by the really big fish.  The pastor at my church has been preaching a series from the book of Jonah.  If you are not familiar with the whole story, I suggest reading it.  Four chapters...  that's it.  But beware, the ending leaves you a bit unsettled.  

In a nutshell, God calls Jonah to witness to the wicked people of Nineveh.  Jonah says "no way" and runs the other direction.  Jonah even goes as far as being thrown into the sea to avoid witnessing to Nineveh.  Enter the really big fish.  God sends a fish to swallow Jonah, and where does the fish spit him up ?  That's right, on the shores of Nineveh.  So a reluctant Jonah, a prophet of God mind you, trudges through Nineveh one day's walk, and preached "In forty days, Nineveh will be smashed", and leaves.  Real compassionate guy huh?  Well, the people of Nineveh repent, and change their ways.  God spares them.  Here's the kicker...  while God shows mercy, grace, and compassion for the people of Nineveh, Jonah is throwing a fit.  A real screaming flapper.  I like the way The Message translation states it in chapter 4 :

Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, "God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That's why I ran off to Tarshish!  I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!  "So, God, if you won't kill them, kill me! I'm better off dead!" 
God said, "What do you have to be angry about?"
 But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk.

That's pretty much the way the book of Jonah ends.  You've got to wonder how the people of Nineveh get it... the grace, mercy, and compassion of God, and Jonah totally misses it.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book, only to find that the ending was not at all what you expected ?   You mutter to yourself ,"I could have written a better ending than that".  Well, my suspicion is that Dr. Seuss felt that way about the book of Jonah.  Not that he could write a better ending, but that he wanted to write an alternate ending.  Perhaps the Grinch is Seuss' Jonah. While the inhabitants of Whoville are not the brutes that made up Nineveh, the Grinch certainly reminds me of Jonah.  The Grinch waits for the crushing blow of a stolen Christmas while Jonah waits for the crushing blow of God.  The Grinch is furious when he hears the joyous singing.  Likewise, Jonah is furious when he hears of the repentant, and forgiven city.  And here is when Dr. Seuss inserts the pleasing ending we want to read.  And what happened then? Well…in Whoville they say, That the Grinch’s small heart Grew three sizes that day!  The same can't be said of Jonah...  at least we are never told.  I want to hear an ending where Jonah's heart grew three sizes.  

I fear that many times today, Christians come across like Jonah.  Show up a bit ruthless, shove a condemning message down the throats of others, and leave.  As a matter of fact, I'm sure it happens all too often.   My prayer is that our hearts would grow three times larger.  Larger because of compassion, larger because of love for others.  Larger because we see the grace of God in people's lives.  

How's your heart today ?