I was brought up with Bible stories, so I knew the story of Jonah from childhood. A child’s version of the story, anyway.

In it, God sends Jonah to Nineveh to preach to unbelievers, but Jonah doesn’t fancy it. He runs away from God on a ship, going as far as he can in the opposite direction. There’s a terrific storm and Jonah ends up in the sea, in a whale. When he gets back on solid ground, God sends him to Nineveh again. The Ninevites believe his message and turn to God, happy endings all round. The lesson is: evangelism may be daunting, but don’t be as silly about it as Jonah was….

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This is an extract from an article published in the November 2024 edition of Reform

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