Through Jesus, we have a hope that is a secure and certain anchor of the soul.
Hebrews 6:19
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
Mark 5:18
It was a day that changed everything. A boat arrived on his beach, and a man got out. Who was this visitor?
No one ever came to this area on purpose. This is where the outcasts lived. People were afraid of him. He was wild and unkempt. He would hurt himself and scream and yell at all times. The people called him a crazy man.
He was removed from society and separated from all that he loved. Home now was a remote area, away from anything normal and familiar.
And then one day Jesus arrived on the scene. The man’s body was controlled by a legion of demons. They tormented him night and day, and yet when Jesus showed up, they knew exactly who He was. They identified Him as the Son of God.
Jesus commanded them to leave the man. They begged Him for a new residence. They entered a large herd of pigs and drove them to their death by running them into the sea.
And in that moment, everything changed. In the presence of Christ, the man was transformed from a naked, demon-possessed crazy man to a man in his right-mind, clothed and ready to follow Jesus.
It’s all he wanted. Just stay with Jesus forever. Be one of His followers. But Jesus had other plans for the man. Instead of getting into the boat with Jesus, Jesus told him to go home and tell his family about what the Lord had done for him and about the mercy God had showed him. And the man did it, and everyone who heard his story was amazed.
Father, I trust in Your ways, Your plans, Your direction. Equip me and send me so that the world may know Your mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name. SDG!
Greg Pinick
CEO Lutheran Education Association of Houston