Home Mission

“Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  Mark 5:19

I’ve been pondering this verse for a week, and just like the candy that changes flavors the longer it’s in your mouth, this verse keeps bringing different delights the more it’s in my heart.

After Jesus healed the demon-possessed man, the people pleaded with Him to go away, but the one who had been restored begged to go along.  Opposite of what we might have done, Jesus said “yes” to the first request but “no” to the next.  He left as was asked but instead of letting the new guy join the group, Jesus sent him packing—but not because He was mad because He had a special mission for the man that no one else could do better.  Jesus wanted him to head home and start running his mouth. “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you”(Mk 5:19).

An amazing miracle had occurred.  The man’s life had been rescued and restored, and others needed to know, so Jesus said, “Go!”  But don’t just go anywhere—Go home. The first take on this command is at its face value—“Let those who are nearest know the most about your awesome God.”  Sharing Christ with family who don’t believe can be awkward, intimidating, and just plain difficult, so take directions from Jesus and make the message personal.  “Tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you”(Mk 5:19).  Even if they say the story isn’t for them, the difference He’s made in you can’t be denied—especially (and imperatively) if your attitudes and actions verify your narrative.  

The focus of the man’s message was to be mercy, and ours should be the same.  We are all in desperate need, unable to redeem ourselves from a hopeless now and forever, but One came along who can and did and will and wants to.  Instead of vaunting our own goodness, we should gush over God’s greatness with words and lives filled with His grace.

The man did as he was directed.  He “went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.  And all the people were amazed”(Mk 5:20).  Because of one man’s obedience, those at home heard the good news of God’s grace, and when Jesus returned to that same region a few months later, He found hearts ready to believe and receive(Mk 7:31-8:10).

I’d love to stop this reflection right here, but God’s Word always layers truth upon truth, so here’s another tidbit to chomp on. “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you”(Mk 5:19).  Some of us live within walls where, but God’s grace, all in the family belong to the Lord.  Does this mean we can ignore this initiative and leap to the next lesson?  Not so fast, my friends, for within His words Jesus did not differentiate between those who know Him and those who don’t.  Even, and especially, if our families are all saved, we should be continually talking about what God has done and what He faithfully does for us every day.  We, of all people, should be making much of His mercy and love, and husbands and wives and sons and daughters should never let a day go by where we don’t share our amazement of our awesome God with each other.

Most conversation at my house revolves around the inputs and outcomes of activities on the weekly schedule, and this verse has rebuked and reminded me that more of what we say should be about our Savior.  It has also convicted me of not just what I don’t say, but of what I do say and how I say it.  Sometimes it’s hardest to be kindest to those who are closest, but a remedy for our snippety tones, impatient demands, and unkind words is to make sure that what comes out of our mouths is in line with the “much that the Lord has done for us, and how he has had mercy on us”(Mk 5:19).

Home should the place where Jesus should be praised the most.

No one is better at sharing Christ with your family than you.

Fear or Faith

“The people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”  Mark 5:17

Usually people get kicked for being bad, but one time Jesus got booted for doing good. The story went a lot like this:

After calming the storms that raged on the sea and in the disciples’ souls, Jesus and company arrived on the other side of the lake and were met by a very messed up man.  This guy lived in the graveyard, ran around naked, and was full of demons.  He spent his days and nights screaming and shouting and cutting himself with stones.  The villagers tried to subdue his violence with shackles, but “he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet”(Mk 5:4).

As soon as Jesus saw the man, He commanded the demon inside to come out. Terrified of his fate, the evil spirit screamed at Jesus, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of God Most High?  Swear to God that you won’t torture me!”(Mk 5:7)  The demon’s name was Legion which means “many” because way more than one evil spirit resided inside that poor, wretched soul.  

The demons knew they must obey but begged Jesus not to send them into the Abyss but instead to let them possess a bunch of pigs feeding on a hillside.  Jesus obliged, but as soon as they entered the pigs, the whole herd of hogs decided they would be better off dead than demonized, so they “rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned”(Mk 5:14).

The hog herders hurried into town to tell the news, and the people dropped what they were doing and ran to see the sights.  “When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind”(Mk 5:15).  Wow!!  Incredible! Astounding! Amazing! And almost unbelievable except that before their very eyes sanely sat that the man whose screams had filled them with terror and whose temper had rerouted their travels(Matt 8:28).  Surely the people would gasp at God’s greatness and rejoice at such restoration.  Surely they would applaud the marvelous miracle and praise the One who had brought it about.  But, no, they did not.  Instead, the people pleaded with Jesus to go away.

It’s one of the saddest stories in the Bible.  Those who had witnessed the transforming power of God, looked Him straight in the eye and sent Him packing.  They sent him away because they were scared, and they thought that being free of Jesus would free them from fear. “The people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region” because they were “overcome with fear”(Mk 5:17, Lk 8:37).  Being scared makes sense—the reality of a demon-commanding, evil-defying God should cause all souls to shudder, but the power that instigated their fear should also have activated their faith. To know that there is One so potent, so strong, and so sovereign that all of creation is subject to His will should bring comfort and hope and be the cause of great rejoicing.  Here is a God to be believed!  Here is a God to be praised—even if we don’t fully understand His ways.

We don’t.  We won’t.  And we’re not supposed to, so when His works and His ways cause our heads to shake in wonder and our hearts to shudder in awe, don’t push God away but instead draw close to the One who reigns supreme over all people and powers, who rules the entire universe in absolute holiness, and who, in astonishing grace and mercy, has chosen to redeem and restore His own.  

True freedom is only found when Christ is close.

Don’t be overcome with fear.  Be overwhelmed with faith.

Give Up

Today is Ash Wednesday, and even if a cross isn’t marking your forehead, it’s worth your time to consider the moment and what it means.  Forty “fasting days” from today is Easter.  The six Sundays between now and then don’t count because they are “feasting days”—weekly reminders of the joyous resurrection.  Since Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness, many Christians around the world use these forty days as a time to fast from something they normally want or need.  This “giving up” of a hobby or a habit or something you do or something you eat is an intentional method of keeping your mind and heart more aware of what Christ gave up for you and of helping you prepare to appreciate His sacrifice on the cross and celebrate His triumph over the tomb.

In world crowded with distractions and demands, doing something that daily focuses our attention on that which matters most can only be counted as a good thing.  I know it is for me.  I need the repeated nudge and the recurring prompt to lift my eyes to the One who gave up everything for me.  I need the struggle of wanting to partake or participate and choosing not to because of a commitment.  I need the discipline of denying myself from some small thing to direct my heart to the big thing.

Many of you reading this devotion have never observed Lent—as this season is officially named in the liturgical calendar—and there’s nothing wrong with that at all for it is surely not a Biblical requirement, but even if your church doesn’t promote is publicly, consider it privately and pray that God will use these few weeks before Easter, however He desires, to help you realize more than ever how absolutely astounding is His grace.   

As you think about this, here’s a challenge for the next forty days:  “Give Up” something good and let your refraining be a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice for you.  “Give Up” something bad and may your repentance leave the refreshing taste of God’s grace in your heart.  And “Take Up” something Godly—more than ever “make every effort” to live out the holiness of our Heavenly Father in an area you know God wants to make you more like Him.

Before Jesus started His walk to the cross, He fasted forty days to help Him focus fully on what was ahead.  By His grace and mercy, our future is not an eternity of painful separation but a forever of being joyfully together with Him.  Though we should remember this all day every day, sometimes we need specific reminders.  Let Lent this year be that for you.

We give up a little to remind us that He gave up His life.                                                                                                   

Do whatever it takes to get focused on God’s grace.