We all go through bad times. It’s part of the human condition. Life is not easy or perfect for anyone. But sometimes life becomes so hopeless and out of control that you can’t imagine ever turning the tide.
Jesus wants to help you get your life back.
Have you ever looked at the mess your life has become and sincerely wanted to return to Jesus, but you think he wouldn’t possibly accept you back?
Maybe you were raised in the Christian faith but strayed away. You haven’t been to church in years and your life involves lots of unhealthy habits that God wouldn’t condone. Maybe you’ve developed a substance addiction. Maybe you have been unfaithful to your spouse. Maybe you’ve broken the law and you’re serving a sentence.
These are all ways to mess up your life, right? And sometimes your life looks irredeemable. But I’m here to tell you that however messy and screwed up our lives get; we can still come to Jesus and ask for help. He won’t turn us away.
Consider the story of a demon-possessed man called Legion in Mark chapter 5. Jesus and his disciples cross the Dead Sea (really an inland lake) to the Decapolis, a grouping of ten Hellenistic cities. It was a center of Hellenistic (or Greek-influenced) and Roman culture in a part of the world that was mainly populated by Jews. It was an area that the Jews stayed far away from because it was so foreign from the laws passed down from Moses for faithful Jews to follow. Pagan rituals, multiple deities worshipped, unclean sacrifices. Jews of the day wanted nothing to do with that evil place! But on this day, Jesus went there, dragging his hesitant disciples with him.
Mark 5:2 - 5 (NIV): When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. … He had tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
I’m sure Jesus went to that forbidden area because he specifically wanted to meet with this poor man. A child of God so afflicted with what his life had become that he miserably cried out and did physical harm to himself. Possessed by demons, isolated from other humans, he had no control over his situation whatsoever. Talk about a person who can’t imagine life getting better. He was at the end of his rope.
Jesus spotted him from a distance and, knowing that he was possessed by demons, spoke directly to them, ordering them to leave out of the man.
Here’s Legion’s response (Mark 5:7): He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”
The demons knew who Jesus was and they were terrified of him and his power. They probably thought they could safely inhabit this poor man because why would Jesus, King of the Jews, ever venture forth into such a non-Jewish land?
But Jesus did come – to save this one lost sheep who had strayed from his flock. Jesus asked his name and the demons replied, “My name is Legion because we are many.”
The demons knew they were no match for the Son of God, so they started bargaining with Jesus: (verse 10 - 13) He begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Powerful. In control. Respected. All these words describe our Jesus. Can you imagine the reaction of the people watching that day? How could they not believe that Jesus was the Son of God after watching such a spectacle?
But Jesus was only interested in the man. Verse 15 describes him as “sitting there, dressed and in his right mind.” The Bible doesn’t tell us this, but in my mind’s eye I can see the man (no longer named Legion) and Jesus meeting gazes. He’s astounded at what had just happened, unable to comprehend what happened, and more likely, why it happened. His life was a mess, totally out of control! His townsfolk were so done with him that they bound him with chains and abandoned him in a tomb. No one wanted to be around him.
Except Jesus. Jesus sought him out, going out of his way to rescue him without being asked. I imagine that the man stumbled to his feet, trying to wrap his head around this amazing and generous act of love from a total stranger. His life had just become 100% better due to one minute of time from Jesus.
Jesus had been known to pull the people he’d healed into his arms and hug them, so it’s not unreasonable to think he did this with this man. He brought him into his arms and showed him how much he was loved. And at that moment, everything about the man and his life changed.
But not for the townspeople. Verse 17 says “Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.” They were probably scared and didn’t want this Man of God who healed and performed miracles anywhere near their secular home. After all, how could life go on as normal when a miraculous life-changer like Jesus was in town?
But the man who had been freed from demons knew what he needed. (Verse 18): As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
Decapolis’s first missionary for Jesus. (Verse 20): So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
The man previously known as Legion was a mess. He was possessed by demons, he was unkempt, smelled horrible, was chained up by his neighbors and forced to live in a tomb because none of them cared about him at all. He was just too messy for them to deal with.
But not Jesus. Jesus was a total stranger to this man. He’d probably never heard of the goings-on across the Dead Sea, but Jesus found him, right where he needed him. And he worked miracles to save him. And then, he gained one witness to help spread the word of God’s loving kindness.
Think about your own life again. How does it compare to Legion and all the challenges he faced? Jesus sought him out and found him and never hesitated to rescue him, even though it was messy. He won’t hesitate to save you either.
Let’s pray: Dear God, we thank you for always being there for us, for never turning away no matter where we are in life or what we’ve done. We have faith that you can help us, to rescue us from the messes we’ve made in our lives. You’ll never give up on us and we ask for your guidance in finding you where we are. Amen.
Comments