Many of us have heard the story of Jonah and the whale in Sunday school.  I have often wondered if this is only an allegorical story in the Bible, symbolizing a spiritual truth, but we know from the gospel of Matthew that Jesus referred to the story of Jonah as an actual historical event (Matthew 12:40).  In the account of Jonah, this prophet of old teaches us the danger of being familiar with the words of God and not His heart.

          God gave Jonah the task of preaching to the city of Nineveh, a city filled with his oppressive Syrian enemies.  After initially running from the task God had given him, which included a near shipwreck and a mysterious large fish, Jonah finally relents and preaches to the city.  To his anguish, the people of the city turn from their “wickedness and violence” (Jonah 3:8) and are spared the judgment of God.  Jonah was upset with this outcome because he had a deep- seated hatred for the Ninevites, who had long oppressed his people.  He was furious that God would show kindness and mercy to the Ninevites; he didn’t share the compassion that God had for the people of that city. 

         If there is a lesson we might miss from Jonah it is this:  We all can be familiar with the words of God yet remain at a distance from His heart.  No doubt Jonah grew up reading Scriptures like the Psalms, which speak about God’s compassionate love for all people of the earth. 

          Could it be that Jonah didn’t share the heart of God because he himself had never had his heart broken?  Sometimes it’s only the broken-hearted that understand the heart of God because they’ve felt the deep pain of separation from the one they love.  That is why each Sunday we gather at the foot of the cross where we see to what extent God’s heart was broken for lost humanity.  As we kneel and ponder such a heartbroken Father, we open ourselves up to go beyond knowing about God, to actually sharing his heart of love for families, towns and cities filled with lost people.