Growth Points: Worshipping the Powerful Lord
dlplife April 27th, 2008
“Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear.” Luke 8:37
One of the most curious events of Jesus’ public ministry was the healing of the Gerasene demoniac. A man possessed of many demons was miraculously delivered by Christ, and the people requested Jesus to leave. Surprising isn’t it? But the clear record is that the Gerasenes prefered their demoniacs to the presence of Christ.
But, before we are too hard on the Gerasenes, we should look at ourselves; we often make similar decisions. For example, we know that life could be better, that we could rise a bit earlier in the morning for prayer and devotion to commune with the living Lord, but we choose instead the company of the world we are familiar with, rather than venture into the realm of fellowship with Christ who is unpredictable.
Often our minds dwell on judging others rather than worshipping Christ or complaining about life rather than praising God. Or we may choose to remain in unpleasant situations where we are dominated by unspiritual people, rather than break away and make a clear declaration of allegiance to Christ.
This is an amazing characteristic of us humans, that often we prefer the familiarity of misery than the misery of unfamiliarity, that is, we prefer to put up with unpleasant but predictable things than to risk venturing out into the freedom that Christ brings without really knowing for sure where He will lead.
But notice the response of the healed demoniac. He had a taste of new life and of freedom and begged Jesus to let him go with Him.
We have our heroes of faith around us, those who have tasted the new wine that Christ offers and don’t want to return to the old ways of life. You can join these ranks if you will worship Christ in His power, trusting that any adventure with Him, no matter how unpredictable, is better than staying put in a stale environment.
Blessings,
Pastor