I decided to post some of my daily reflections I record when I read the Bible. Hopefully it reminds me of what God has revealed to me already. I'm praying that it encourages whoever's reading as well (: Praise God for His beautiful revelations.


23/11
HOW DO WE RESPOND TO JESUS
Mark 5:1-20

• Jesus met a man possessed by a legion of demons
• The man fell on his knees before Jesus and the demons recognised Jesus as God's Son
• Jesus cast out the demons and news of this spread to the town
• The people pleaded with Jesus to leave because they were afraid
• The man wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus told him to go home and share how Jesus had mercy on him

I think it's quite easy to take accounts of Jesus casting out demons and skim through them, especially when we've read them many times before. So I think sometimes it's good to pause and take in the gravity of these accounts. I don't think I've ever come across a demon (at least not that I know of...), but I'm pretty sure I would be terrified at the sight of such possessions. I'm already pretty scared when I watch movies like The Conjuring, so if I happened to witness this sort of thing in real life, I'd definitely be afraid. Who wouldn't right? An evil supernatural being who has power over you? I'd probably be crying.

Only when we understand this, then we might have a shot at taking in the power of Jesus. He had complete authority over this legion of demons! So much so that they couldn't even run at the sight of him! Only when He gave the permission, they were allowed to go into the pigs. In theory, in terms of power, one ought to be more afraid of Jesus. Coincidentally, that was the exact response of the people who had heard of this miracle. They were terrified at his power...

Yet the man who was healed had a completely different response. He wanted to follow Jesus. So why the different response? He personally witnessed the extent of Jesus's power, wouldn't he be more afraid? Maybe there's something about personally experiencing Jesus that differentiates itself from mere hearing about Jesus's works. Okay I'm just speculating here, but maybe the man saw more than the power of demons. Maybe he saw love. Or compassion. So strong that it compelled Jesus to have mercy on him. He saw that and he made up his mind. I want to follow him!

I don't know whether I can fully apply this to our lives but I do see some similarities here, at least when I observe how people respond to Jesus. It's clear that to date, not everyone who has heard of Jesus has believed in Him. Not everyone who has had the gospel shared to them  has decided to follow Jesus. Some are afraid of the consequences of what it might mean to follow him. Some are afraid because they've "lost" family members to Christianity.

 Reading this passage, I suspect the reason for this to be the lack of that personal encounter with Jesus. Just like the demon-possessed man, I've been in (and sometimes still am) in that filthy, broken state. And I've been healed (and encountered Jesus) in a way only the demon-possessed man will know. So, I conclude, within the core of my being, that I need Jesus. Maybe that's what it takes to compel us to follow Jesus.