Incidental.

 That word has an undeniably Hollywood blockbuster ring to it. (Don’t think so? Read this in your best movie trailer voice: “Incidentals, Coming to theaters, Summer 2023.” Told ya.)

But other than sounding like a movie title, the word usually connotes something which is non-essential or minor or inconsequential to the overall scheme of things.

If we were to extend the movie analogy, the “incidental” people on a film set would be the “extras,” or if we were being more politically correct the “background talent.” If one or two of them decided to quit on the producers, no big deal. But if Tom Cruise or Chris Evans walked off the set…ouch, consequences.

We all have “incidental” people in our lives, the ones who are not in the forefront, not overly “essential” to our daily lives. Perhaps it’s someone down the street who you wave to every now and then. Perhaps it’s the Amazon guy who you run into when you’re leaving the house. Perhaps it’s the receptionist at the pediatrician’s whose name you can’t quite remember.

This morning as I read through the story of Jonah on the ship headed to Tarshish, my focus shifted to the “incidental” people in the well-known narrative: the sailors on the boat.

Those guys were for the most part the ‘background talent’ in the episode. At best, their roles were minor, limited to a few lines in the script. If they were part of the cast, we would most likely be out of the theater before their names rolled by in the end credits.

And yet…

And yet, these weather-beaten sailors were far from incidental or inconsequential in God’s eyes. He didn’t brush past them. He didn’t even politely nod to them. He was deeply invested in their lives.

Their presence in the Jonah story is not merely incidental. It was God-orchestrated. Those men were far from inconsequential — they were incredibly important to God.

These seasoned seafarers who, without a doubt, had endured all sorts of weather conditions were terrified by the wildness of this particularly violent storm. They responded in ways they knew best.

They cried out to their own gods. They used their intellect and brawn to throw cargo overboard. They followed tradition and cast lots to check who was responsible for this calamity.

They hurled a barrage of questions at Jonah: “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” (Jonah 1:8)

Jonah answered quite plainly: “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9)

In that moment, God spoke to their hearts above the noise of the wind and waves. In that moment of sheer terror, they acknowledged the truth. In that moment, they feared and reverenced the Lord.

God used the mistakes in Jonah’s life and a dire natural disaster to open those sailors’ eyes to who He was. Those men, who we assume were the sidebar to the Jonah story, show us that God is not just interested in those on stage, but also in those on the sidelines. And He can reach them with His love and power, no matter how unlikely the scenario.

That neighbor down the street, that receptionist at the pediatrician’s office, that Amazon delivery person may seem incidental in your story. But has God placed them in your path for a reason? Could He use your story to speak His truth to them? Your story doesn’t have to be “perfect” for God to speak. God used Jonah’s less-than-stellar ways to minister to a group of sailors.

How might He use yours?

Prayer: Father, I praise You because You care about people on the sidelines and those who are easily overlooked. And I thank You because You use even imperfect stories like mine to speak to these individuals. Lord, may I not be paralyzed by fear because my “track record” is flawed. Instead, I pray that despite my weaknesses, You would speak truth to those on the outside. Give me a heart to notice those on the margins and see them as not merely incidental but incredibly important to You.  In Jesus’ name. Amen

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