Sovereign Father, I yield myself to You. Guide my thoughts as we come together this evening. Open my eyes and my heart that I may hear You clearly. Give me the words to communicate your message to all who will hear. Amen.
Luke 8:26-39 (<<click to read the passage)
Wouldn’t it be cool if we could’ve had a Paul-Harvey-The-Rest-of-the-Story moment after Jesus’ encounter with the man possessed by Legion? When he begged to go with Jesus after he was set free,

Jesus sent him home, saying, “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.”

Just imagine what he did!
First of all, what was going through his mind? For so long he had not been in control of…well, of anything! Verse 27 says,

For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town.

I cannot even begin to comprehend his lostness. His loneliness. The insanity he must have felt and the hopelessness that came with it! From his perspective, there was no light whatsoever at the end of the tunnel, just day after day of impenetrable darkness.
People had tried to help him, or more than likely control, him but,

Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power. v29

And suddenly…there was no more tunnel – only Light!
Jesus would later proclaim,

“I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12 (AMP)

And, all praise going to God, that’s where he found himself!
Secondly, as he traveled, he had to have shocked everyone with whom he came into contact! Jaws dropped and many probably ran. There were probably many who just couldn’t comprehend it. “This just doesn’t make sense! This is that crazy dude! But he’s dressed and in his right mind!” It had to have freaked them out!
But he didn’t let any of that stop him! He had a story to tell! That may have been him then, but it wasn’t who he was now! He had been set free at the command of his Savior! And all the world would know!
Then, what about his family? Initially, they probably had the same reaction as everyone else…but once the reality of it all had sunk in, can you imagine the joy! The celebration! The grand reunion!
It makes me think of the reaction of the father at the return of the prodigal.

“…for this son of mine was [as good as] dead and is alive again; he was lost and has been found.” Luke 15:24 (AMP)

Lord Jesus, may we always find hope in You. The darkness may seem never-ending, but surely You are Light! May we personally experience Your Light each and every day and may we draw others to You by reflecting that Light in the way we live our days! May we be the one that points those with no light at the end of their tunnel, to the One True Light! Amen.

Mar 25th, 2020, Wed, 7:49 pm