Jonah and ...

The story is called "Jonah and the Whale," but that's a misleading name. The whale has more of a supporting role, so a more apt name would be "Jonah in the Whale," except Jonah is only in the whale for a fourth of the story. Other possible names:
"Jonah and God's Will"
"Jonah and the Ninevites"
"Jonah and the Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very Bad Few Days"
"Jonah and Himself"

Perhaps I better stick with the name the Bible uses - "Jonah." Anyway, I was reading the story of Jonah this morning and noticing how it is different from the other books of the Bible called the Minor Prophets. Maybe it is so different because Jonah was so different. The other minor prophets listened to what God had to say and then shared it with the people God told them to. Jonah, on the other hand, heard what God had to say and then ran away. He didn't want to tell the Ninevites to repent and be saved. He was afraid they might do it and God would save them. I was reminded of the Game Show Network game called "1 vs 100." In this particular game, a contestant is pitted against 100 people. Everyone is asked the same question and given the choice of three answers. Each of the 100 vote secretly for what he or she believes is the correct answer. Then the contestant gives his answer out loud. If he is wrong, the 100 (the "mob") wins and he loses. If he is right, he wins and the "mob" loses.

Did Jonah think he was on "1 vs 100"? He seemed to think that if he told the Ninevites to repent and they did, that they would be the winners and he would lose. But if he didn't tell them, then they were the losers and he would win. Silly Jonah!! Salvation is a win-win situation. When we share with others, we lose nothing. In fact, we gain the joy of seeing people come to Christ, plus we please our Father, who is not willing that any should perish. If Jonah had only understood this, we could call the story "Jonah and a Whale of a Happy Ending."