Mark 5:1-20 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, "Send us to the pigs; let us enter them." So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
We, like this demon-possessed man, have been shown mercy from God. So then why do we think that we are any different?
We cannot necessarily move away from the people that may have encouraged us to walk in a path far from God. But what better way to glorify Our Savior than to tell all and show all how he has saved us.
It is important to understand that our salvation does not have to be some extreme conversion. Remember, some of the Gentiles lived “good lives”. Even so, on their best days, they where still saved form the same Hell!
This does not mean that we should go to all the same places we used to, or that we should hang out with all the same people we used to. We can talk to those people that used to encourage us down paths that led to destruction the same way Christ did. He told Matthew the tax collector to follow Him. And shortly after, He sat down to dinner with the tax collectors and sinners. Christ’s desire was to share the Gospel and be the Light in a dark world.
Our light should be one that reflects God’s grace and mercy. As light bearers, we need not EXPOSE the darkness in someone else’s life, but rather our own life. This is something that is done naturally. Take a match, light it in a dark room. See how it naturally illuminates the darkness? You don’t need to move it at all; the match just does what God intended it to do. Now, try to fill the room and EXPOSE as much darkness as you can to the light by WAVING it around and SHOVING it into the darkness. What happens? The light goes out and the darkness has come back just the same way it was before.
We cannot force what God is doing in our lives on others, nor can we force the changes we have made in our lives on them. If we do, we are like the match trying to light the room by force.
As Christians we cannot surround ourselves with only Christians, but rather we must use The Church for what God intended it for! Not gossiping and social networking, but rather for the saints to be refreshed and equipped, to be strengthened so that we can continue our sanctification. We need to be in God’s Word to expose ourselves to Truth so that we can change as He calls us to change. The purpose for Scripture and preaching is not to get facts and Scripture references to use on others, but to help us with the changes God desires to bring about in us.
People will see us changed and ask us: Why?
We can show them. Not try to save them, but simply to expose them to the same Savior that saved us. If someone wants to meet our Savior then we can leave them to talk to God alone. Then, we can follow up with them by inviting them to Fellowship, to be refreshed and equipped, and invite them to our house for dinner, to pray for them, and offer encouragement.
