Jonah: A City Changed

One man can change a city, an entire nation, or perhaps even the whole world.
Sometime during the 1800s, a Sunday School teacher named Edward Kimball led a shoe salesman to faith in Jesus Christ. That salesman was D.L. Moody, who later became a famous American evangelist. I don’t have time to relate all the details, but Moody was the first in a chain of evangelists, one influencing another, the latest being Mordecai Ham. In 1934, Ham was preaching in Charlotte, North Carolina. During one of his crusade meetings, a youngster named Billy Graham became a Christian.
This is all very insignificant, except for the fact that Billy Graham has become perhaps the most famous evangelist of all time, leading thousands, if not millions, to faith in Christ.
What does this all mean? That there are many people, today, who might not have ever become Christians, had it not been for the faithful service of a rather unknown man named Ed Kimball. Millions of people are Christians because a number of men, starting with Kimball, and culminating with Graham, had discovered and were living out their purpose in life.
In Jonah 3, we find our rebellious prophet finally going to Nineveh. He warns them of impending judgment, they repent, and God spares them. During his sermon this week, PJ said this was because, after his near-death experience, Jonah had found his purpose in life.
On one hand, I agree with this statement. On the other hand, I don’t. For it seems to me that if you run from God, get caught in a nasty storm, are thrown overboard, then get swallowed by a giant fish, who later gets sick to his stomach, landing you on the beach, then it’s rather hard to say “No” when God comes to you and says, “Shall we try this again?”
So I wonder whether Jonah truly found his purpose, or if he obeyed God because God didn’t really give him any other options.
That being said, I certainly agree with the call to find your purpose in life and pursue it. But here is where many people get stuck in a rut, become stagnant, and are beset by discouragement. Many people respond to this call by saying, “I don’t know what my purpose in life is. How can I fulfill my purpose in life if I don’t know what that purpose is? And with my 40-hour per week job, my marriage, my kids, and all the activities we have going on, when am I supposed to take time out to discover my purpose in life?”
Well, let me give you a good starting point. The Westminster Catechism begins with the question, “What is the chief end (purpose) of Man?” The accompanying answer is, “The chief end (purpose) of Man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Your purpose in life is to glorify God and to enjoy Him. That’s what you were created for. That’s what you were intended to do.
“Yeah, but I don’t really know what God’s will for my life is. I don’t know if I’m in the right career path. As a single person, I don’t know who God wants me to marry, or even if He ever wants me to get married at all. I can’t preach. I don’t feel comfortable teaching Sunday School or leading an e-group. How does God want me to glorify Him?”
I Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This is a command to do everything for the glory of God. This may sound rather intimidating, but it really is quite simple. For with every action we take, it requires that we ask ourselves only one or two questions.
First, we should ask ourselves, “Does this action, or can this action, glorify God?” If the answer is no, then we don’t even need to consider the second question. For example, does stealing from the grocery store glorify God? Can stealing from the grocery store glorify God? No, because God has told us not to steal. Issue resolved. Don’t steal from the grocery store.
But if the action you are about to take does, or can, glorify God, then you need to ask yourself the second question: Am I doing this for the purpose of glorifying God? What’s my primary motivation? The action may be appropriate. But if the motivation is wrong, then it doesn’t glorify God.
If we would learn to ask ourselves these two questions on a consistent basis, then we would find God blessing us and leading us in ways we might never have thought possible. We won’t have to worry about finding God’s purpose for our lives, because we will just find ourselves in the middle of accomplishing it.

STUDY QUESTIONS


1. Read I Corinthians 10:31 again. What does it mean to “do all to the glory of God”? What do you think it means to glorify God?


2. Read Matthew 5:13-16. How can your actions and your attempts to glorify God influence others? What happens when you fail to glorify God?


3. Do you have any fears with regard to glorifying God? That is, are you afraid He would call you to do something you have no desire for, and you would be miserable doing? What does the Bible have to say about this matter?