UP ON YOUR FEET

You probably know the story of Jonah pretty well

Jonah’s the guy who tried to run from God and found himself in the belly of a real big fish.  It seems silly.  I mean what could God tell a person that would cause them to run in the opposite direction?  Here’s all God said,

Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer. 
(Jonah 1:2, The Message)

That doesn’t seem too difficult 

But let’s look at it in a different light.  Try replacing Jonah with yourself, and then replace Nineveh with the city you live in.  God is saying for you to go to your city and preach.  Umm, that kind of changes things a little doesn’t it?  Good thing there aren’t any real big fish around here.  

God loves people, therefore God loves cities and communities and states and countries. God loves the whole world.  No matter how dark things have become, no matter how much men have rejected God’s love and turned away from him, no matter what…God’s great love remains.  And we are the ambassadors of that divine love.

Jonah finally got around to it

And when he did what God had called him to do, here’s what we are told,

The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers. When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he got up off his throne, threw down his royal robes, dressed in burlap, and sat down in the dirt.…God saw what they had done, that they had turned away from their evil lives. He did change his mind about them. What he said he would do to them he didn’t do. 
(Jonah 3:5-6,10, The Message)

No wonder the battle is so fierce against us being obedient to God’s calling—whole communities are up for grabs—and the Enemy of our souls knows it well.

Up on your feet and go to the city you live in…and preach the good news!