Read: Mark 5:1–20
They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had the legion; and they were afraid….Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. Mark 5:15 & 17
For the Gerasenes, the man possessed with a legion of demons was fearsome. He could not be bound or contained or controlled. The demoniac was a public menace, and a fearful presence in the Gerasene countryside. When Jesus cast the man’s demons into a herd of nearby swine, however, the news was greeted with an even greater fear—a fear that prompted the people of that country to demand that Jesus leave their land. A man filled with demons was scary to be sure, but a man who could radically change your life in an instant was downright terrifying. If Jesus could transform the fearsome creature who lived among the tombs into an entirely different man, what might Jesus do the rest of the people living in that lakeside community? What might Jesus be able to do with us?
How might Jesus change your life if you were to encounter him?
Dear Lord, I choose comfort over conversation. I prefer dealing with the hidden demons of my life rather than the uncertainty that change might bring. I would probably choose to live amidst the tombs of past miseries rather than to step into the new life You invite me into. Which means, like the Gerasenes, I would likely shoo You away rather than invite You into my life. Please, please, please, Lord…break through my fears so that I can embrace the freedom and new life You are offering me. In Your name, I pray. AMEN.