How do you express gratitude to other people for their acts of kindness toward you? Do you brush off their acts as if it was nothing? Do you act as if every kindness was the greatest act in human history, making sure everyone knows about it? Or are you somewhere in between these two extremes? We all need to learn to show gratitude to the appropriate level, a level that matches the gift.
In today’s text we see the man who has received his life back, as if back from the dead. He at some point in his life he opened the door to demon possession. We don’t know how or when, but the inescapable fact was his life had become unlivable for him every since. He had lost everything. He lived in a cemetery, his friends and family having given up trying to help him.
But then! Those are great words. But then Jesus enters his life and everything changes. Now he is seated, dressed and in his right mind. And this transformation has brought fear to everyone around him. They want nothing to do with this Jesus who changes lives so radically. They want Him gone as soon as possible. This is a power they don’t understand, just like the power that had destroyed the man’s life. They don’t know how to control it, let alone understand it.
Their reaction is very much like that of those who saw the first demonstrations of electricity just two centuries ago. People would gather to see simple experiments of static electricity. The people of that day didn’t know about this mysterious power. So to hear talk of harnessing the same power as lightening was very frightening. Lightening burned down barns! Lightening killed people.
Now a man named Jesus comes to town, is able to cure the uncontrollable man who lives in the tombs, and kills the whole herd of pigs by driving them off a cliff. What is He going to do next? Where else will His power strike that we don’t want?
This man by contrast wants to follow Jesus. Wouldn’t you, if He had cured you? Wouldn’t you want everything Jesus had to offer? Everything He did for this man was miraculous. Who wouldn’t want more miraculous power working in their life?
But Jesus turns down the request. He instead tells the man that he has a new job. Instead of hanging out in the tombs, he is to hang out with everyone he used to know before he was banished. He was to tell them everything that had happened to him. He was to tell the great contrast between where he was and where he is now, the great chasm between demon possession, and clothed and in his right mind. That is how much the Lord had done. This is a quantifiable change.
And this man telling his story sows the seeds of conversion for this whole area. He introduces them to the transforming Messiah, the one who changes hearts, lives and eternities. Later the full Gospel is told in this mainly non-Jewish area, and they respond in droves. Could it be that this man’s testimony prepared them to accept.
He was also to tell them the extent of His mercy. This was not merely a physical healing, but this man’s life was restored. And he had nothing to offer in exchange for this transformation. Jesus extended mercy on him. No political favors came in exchange for Jesus’ intervention. This man had nothing of value to give. Jesus had everything. That is mercy.
How much has the Lord done for you? Can you see this as mercy extended toward you? What did you deserve instead? Can you see the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of your life? Are you telling others this story?
The Arnold Journey 