“God does not have a ‘love’ part and a ‘righteousness’ part that must be reconciled. What we see as being in tension is ultimately a perfect unity. However, that unity can be seen only in the light of the work of Jesus Christ. To be confused or angry at God is quite natural. But if […]
“For God to apply [the word compassion] to himself is radical. This is the language of attachment. . . . The love of attachment makes you vulnerable to suffering, and yet that is what God says about himself. . . . God’s compassion is not something abstract but concrete. It plays out not just in […]
“[Jonah’s] explosive anger shows that he is willing to discard his relationship with God if he does not get his thing. When you say, ‘I won’t serve you, God, if you don’t give me X,’ then X is your true bottom line, your highest love, your real god, the thing you most trust and rest […]
“Every act of disobedience has a storm attached to it. This is one of the great themes of the Old Testament wisdom literature. . . . The Bible does not say that every difficulty is the result of sin — but it does teach that every sin will bring you into difficulty.”- Timothy Keller “[Jonah] […]
“In a deliberate parody of God’s call to ‘arise, go to Nineveh,’ Jonah ‘arose’ to go in the opposite direction. . . . Called to go east, he went west. Directed to travel overland, he went to sea. Sent to the big city, he bought a one-way ticket to the end of the world.”- Timothy […]
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him [Jonah], “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know it is my fault that this great storm has come upon […]
“After paying the fare, he [Jonah] went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”- Jonah 1:3 “Sometimes it’s hard for a prophet and a profit to coexist.”- John Ortberg Today John Ortberg discusses the second reason that holds us back from saying “yes” to God. 2. Having other options holds us back. […]
“I am very brave generally, but today I have a headache.”-Tweedledum, Through the Looking Glass “Be strong and courageous . . . for the Lord your God will be with you.”- Joshua 1:9 In Chapter 8 (“The Jonah complex”) of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg notes that we long for open doors, yet […]