Before this story , people are estranged from God. They don't know Him or how to relate to Him. (See ch.11 for their best attempt.) So, with Abraham, God begins to show people who He is and how we can relate to Him. This is a critical story to our faith because what is true for Abraham is true for all people--we are made right with God by grace through faith.

Apart from God, we will always try to make a name for ourselves and find reasons to think we can be great on our own. The more we let pride fester in our lives, the further we'll find ourselves from God. Closeness with God is not achieved by us becoming great. It is experienced by God becoming weak, in the person of Jesus.

The human heart is sinful. We will always be inclined to do what is right in our own eyes and rebel against God. That deserves judgment and wrath from God. However, the story of the flood ends with a promise that God will deal differently with our sin--He intends to rescue not destroy, to save rather than condemn.

Sin separates people from the God who created us. It creates problems at every level of our lives. There is no way we can fix this problem on our own. God promised long ago to cleanse us of sin and cover our shame. That work was completed through Christ's death on the cross.

God created. This is the foundation of our faith. God is sovereign and He is good. The crown jewel of His creation was mankind, made in His image. As His image-bearer in this world, we are to live in relationship with Him and carry out His purpose.

The best Gospel message and mission come from a heart like God's. His love never gives up and His grace never runs out. Like with Jonah, God patiently and persistently pleads with us to have a heart like His, especially for those who are still running away from God and who He is still running after. We have received God's grace and He, therefore, wants us to run after others with Him.

People are saved whenever they respond to the Good News of God. But people can only repsond to the message of God when they hear it from someone else. (Romans 10:14-15) God sends us with His message of judgment and salvation so that people will stop running from Him and turn toward Him through repentance.

Jonah is saved by God in the depths of his rebellion. This story shows Jonah's personal experience of God's grace. It is the turning point in Jonah's story, when he chooses to honor God and take God's message to the people of Ninevah. Likewise, we are most motivated to share God's grace when we know how much we need it, too.

God pursues those who are running from Him, whether it's people who know Him well (Jonah) or not at all (Ninevah). This intro to the book and series, will set up the theme that God wants us to have His heart for people who are far from Him, and that means running after them to bring them back to God!