Go!
Go!
Go to the great city of Nineveh. (Jon. 3:2)
Don’t Stop
Many Christ followers think God’s basic call on their life is to stop doing this or stop doing that. People often tell their faith stories by saying something like, “I gave my life to Jesus, and then I stopped doing this, and that, and . . . ” listing the sins they’ve tried to put off. Isn’t there more to Christianity than trying to stop doing things?
Yes, it’s good to set aside habits and behaviors that are sinful or harmful or not of God. But the heart of Christian discipleship is not the word stop. If it were, we’d all be better off just staying home, hiding behind the shutters.
Just Go
At the heart of Christianity is movement, an outward focus, a going that we can easily forget as we face the demands of our lives. But God didn’t forget why He had called Jonah. He was called to go to Nineveh. It was his mission whether he liked it or not.
Nineveh is not just the place you don’t want to go. It’s the place that is seemingly out of God’s reach. It’s the friend or family member you’ve prayed for but who never seems to change. It’s the peer or colleague who laughs at your faith or how you live. It’s the person you try to love, but he just responds like a jerk no matter how gracious you are. It’s the situation that never seems to get any better, which never inspires hope. It’s the place God has called you to go, and it’s the place where you must rely on God to survive.
Bottom Line
The gospel begins with go. So what are you waiting for?