The Freedom to Live

‘In Christ, live like there is nothing to fear.’

‘When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the town and in the country. And [people] went out to see what had occurred, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right (sound) mind; and they were seized with alarm and fear. And those [also] who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was restored [to health]. Then all the people of the country surrounding the Gerasenes’ district asked [Jesus] to depart from them, for they were possessed and suffering from dread and terror; so He entered a boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee]. 

But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging and praying that he might accompany Him and be with Him, but [Jesus] sent him away, saying, Return to your home, and recount [the story] of how many and great things God has done for you. And [the man] departed, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.’ Luke 8:34-39

Hello,

God bless you.

I read the story of the Gerasenes’ demoniac from the viewpoint of the Gerasenes people. Their reaction to Jesus was rather peculiar. Unlike the Samaritan woman, who believed and went to call the people of her town to see the Lord, the herdsmen ran to town to tell them about the catastrophe. At the time Jesus was with them, their city must have had the sick, lame, blind, and deaf, but they weren’t thinking about that. The Bible says they were possessed and suffering from fear. Fear, so great that it closed the minds of everybody in the town, and they asked Jesus to depart from them.

I read a Ted + Rachelle Dekker book last month. They wrote about the strength we give to fear when we yield to it. Allow me to paint a picture of the Gerasenes story drawing my analogy from their book.

Imagine Jesus as light, literally. He comes to the Gerasenes district, and it’s covered in darkness. He knows that the people are living in darkness, and he came to free them. He saves the demoniac, the real face of what was going on in the city. Now, a second light in place, but the people are blind, and they can’t see. Gripped by fear of the unknown, they chose to stay with what they knew, the darkness and bondage. Then I saw grace and mercy at work.

The lighted man(the former demoniac) knew he didn’t belong in the district any longer and begged Jesus to take him along; it makes sense, the same kind.

The Bible says that Jesus asked him to stay in the community and to tell them of the great things that God had done. I saw then that Jesus knew he had a light in the Gerasenes district, who would light up others. It may have seemed that Jesus had left them to their fate, but no.

Picture this, the lighted one goes about the city, proclaiming the Lord Jesus and what do you think happened next? People would have started lighting up in the town. They would be like light bulbs, coming on in one’s and two’s. God hadn’t forsaken the Gerasenes, he had left them with light.

The demoniac lived out his calling freely, probably the one least expected to bring salvation to his town, and I ask, what is stopping us?

People are bound by all sorts of fear, unable to live out their destinies in Christ, their light hidden under bowls. We would typically choose to stay bound (unknowingly) to what we know and are used to, rather than try a new and different way.

What did the demoniac get from being saved? Freedom to walk in his calling, to live without fear. No demons were tormenting his life with the different issues that beset, driving him mad and giving him sleepless nights. Sound familiar? This man was free to live, one day at a time, knowing that in Christ, he had found rest.

We may look at them and be all ‘churchous’ about it, but are we not living like the Gerasenes? Bound by the fears, we were introduced to as children, taught as teens, and acquired as we advanced in life. The more we give in to these fears, the more they take hold and grow to enormous proportions in us. We start to exhibit, teach our children, and mentor our juniors; the cycle continues. The light was meant to light others, not to be hidden, but to be put at the top of the mountain, declaring that Jesus is Lord.

The Bible says, NOW is the time of salvation. Freedom is available for us all; we only need to see, to understand, and to walk in it. Note, it is not for us alone, but mostly for those around us still held captive.

Wouldn’t it be glorious if we could live free of all the fears holding us back, as people, parents, employees, and business owners? The time to ask for it is now.

Till next time, be transformed!!!