Earlier this semester, I was reading my Bible after breakfast. As I was reading, I came accross Luke 8:26-39, the story where Jesus drives out demons from a man into a herd of pigs. You are probably familar with this story, but in case you are not, I will relate it:
After Jesus demonstrated His divine power over nature by calming a storm, He and His disciples landed at the region of the Gerasenes. There, Jesus was met by a demon-possessed man. The demons dwelling within this man were completely scared of who Christ was, and begged Him to not torture them. Instead of commanding the demons to go into the Bottomless Pit, Jesus allowed the demons to flee into a herd of pigs that were grazing close by. Later, the people from a nearby city came and discovered the once-demon-possessed man calmly sitting next to Jesus. Out of fear for the power that Jesus wielded, the townspeople asked Him to leave. As Jesus was leaving, the man that He had saved from the demons wanted to come with Him--he begged to follow Jesus. So of course Jesus allowed him to come along, right? Wrong.
This might not make sense at first--after all, why would Christ reject a ready and willing disciple? Here was Jesus' reason: "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." Note, that Jesus was not rejecting a willing disciple, He was rejecting the man's intention. God's plan was different from the man's, and God corrected the man. This formerly demon-possessed man thus went out and told all over town what Jesus had done for him. He wasn't just satisfied with telling his family--he needed to get out and tell as many people as possible about what God had done for him and how He had saved him. This is something that we can all learn: God may not want all of us to actively witness to people in other countries--sometimes, He may want us to stay at home and actively witness to our neighbors. Regardless, we are all called to tell others of what God has done in our personal lives.
So--what about you? What has Jesus ever done for you? And how many people in your town have you told?
After Jesus demonstrated His divine power over nature by calming a storm, He and His disciples landed at the region of the Gerasenes. There, Jesus was met by a demon-possessed man. The demons dwelling within this man were completely scared of who Christ was, and begged Him to not torture them. Instead of commanding the demons to go into the Bottomless Pit, Jesus allowed the demons to flee into a herd of pigs that were grazing close by. Later, the people from a nearby city came and discovered the once-demon-possessed man calmly sitting next to Jesus. Out of fear for the power that Jesus wielded, the townspeople asked Him to leave. As Jesus was leaving, the man that He had saved from the demons wanted to come with Him--he begged to follow Jesus. So of course Jesus allowed him to come along, right? Wrong.
This might not make sense at first--after all, why would Christ reject a ready and willing disciple? Here was Jesus' reason: "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." Note, that Jesus was not rejecting a willing disciple, He was rejecting the man's intention. God's plan was different from the man's, and God corrected the man. This formerly demon-possessed man thus went out and told all over town what Jesus had done for him. He wasn't just satisfied with telling his family--he needed to get out and tell as many people as possible about what God had done for him and how He had saved him. This is something that we can all learn: God may not want all of us to actively witness to people in other countries--sometimes, He may want us to stay at home and actively witness to our neighbors. Regardless, we are all called to tell others of what God has done in our personal lives.
So--what about you? What has Jesus ever done for you? And how many people in your town have you told?
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