ApprehendingGrace.com

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
Luke 8:37

This has to be one of the saddest verses in the Bible. Jesus had just healed the Gerasenes demoniac. A man who had previously been filled with demons that kept him from wearing clothes or living in a home. He lived in the tombs and in solitary places. Jesus healed him and when the people came to see, they “found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind.” (V35)

Instead of rejoicing with Jesus and the healed man, the chose fear. They were afraid and asked Jesus to leave them.

The supernatural – the spiritual world full of spiritual powers – can be frightening, but when Jesus is at the center of them, we can have peace and we can rejoice (unless we’re the demonic forces, of course). Scripture assures us that Jesus has come to give us life, it is satan and his demonic forces that have come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Jesus had just given the demoniac life, but those in the town chose fear and begged Jesus to leave their town.

Scripture teaches that we are to test the spirits. We’re not to embrace every supernatural event that occurs. That would be foolish. By the same token, we ought not to dismiss supernatural events out of our own skepticism or fear. When the events are associated with those that proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and give glory to God and they bring freedom to His followers, prayerfully embrace them. Lean toward acceptance, not toward skepticism or fear.

God has wonderful things in store for us, but I think we sometimes miss those things because we are too afraid. We see or experience something new or different and like “all the people of the region of the Gerasenes [we ask] Jesus to leave [us], because [we are] overcome with fear.” And satan wins.

Here’s to looking for the God of miracles so that we might sit at His feet fully clothed and in our right minds!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 8:28 pm and is filed under Christian Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.