The story begins with a man who is possessed with many demons (Luke 8:26-39). You have probably heard this story before! Jesus casts the demons out of the man's body and puts the demons into the pigs and then the pigs fall off a cliff and into water and die. Hmm...sounds so exciting. :) But when I dug a little deeper into the passage, I saw how my life is so much like this man's before he encounter Christ.
Before this man encountered the Living God, he, "For a long time...had worn no clothes and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs."(v.27) Just this passage sums up this man's life: naked, homeless, and living in a graveyard. This was my life before Christ, I was living among the tombs.
His life was also controlled by the demons inside of him, the Word says that this man, "He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert." (v. 29) When I first read this, I thought it was talking about Jesus breaking the bonds, but when I looked more closely, I saw that it was actually the demon that did this. I know in my life, I have allowed the enemy to control parts of my life and let him keep me in chains and then drive me into the "desert." Beth Moore says (in Jesus: 90 Days with the One and Only) it in a way that really allowed me to understand that even demons have a supernatural power:
"Luke tells us that the demons enabled the man to break chains. I feel the need
to stress something about supernatural power: not all of it comes from God!
...At times Satan is able to display signs and wonders. But remember, ours is the
PRINCE OF PEACE. All conflict HE ordains is for the ultimate purpose of peace
under His righteous rule."
What I love about this story is the ending... the man who was once naked, homeless, and lived among the tombs, was forever changed once he encountered Jesus. The contrast from the opening sentences to the closing of the story is just beautiful. Let's take a look and see how beautiful this picture really is:
"Then the people went out to see what had happened,
and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone,
sitting at the feet of Jesus,
clothed and in his right mind..."(v 35)
When everyone around him was scared and running around, this man was sitting at the feet of Jesus. It reminds me of how there are so many stories in the Bible where once a person is healed, they seem to immediately run and tell everyone they know (which is a WONDERFUL thing, don't get me wrong!). But here is this man, sitting at the feet of Jesus. The man was no longer naked or homeless, but was found fully clothed (not only physically, but I believe spiritually as well) and in his right mind. BEAUTIFUL. No other can do this, our Savior is Mighty and can do what we think may be impossible! It reminds me of a passage in Ezekiel:
"When I passed by you again and saw you,
behold, you were at the age for love,
and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness;
I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you,
declares the Lord GOD,
and you became mine."
(Ezekiel 16:8)
The LORD loves to cover us with His mercy and like this man, even His healing power. Who am I that this God of the entire universe would want to look upon me and heal me, let alone, save me? I want to be like this man... sitting at the feet of Jesus.
This man later went around "...proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him." (Luke 8:39) I believe that if the crowd didn't make Jesus leave, that this man would had sat at the feet of Jesus for a very long time! But I also need to be like this man in this area too! When other's push Jesus away, I need to proclaim, even more, how much He has done for me! I want to be found at the feet of Jesus, but also shouting His praises! We aren't called as believers to constantly be sitting at His feet, meaning, that is the only place we should be, but we should also be found proclaiming (like this man) how much Jesus has done for us. Whether that be in your school, hometown, or maybe, even your home.
As much as I would love to stay and sit at the feet of my Maker, I know there will come a day when I will get to do that for all eternity, so for now, I will proclaim the majesty and glory of the God who saved me and rescued me from the enemy!
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for HE has clothed me with the
garments of salvation;
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness....
-Isaiah 61:10 (ESV)
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