It is the week of Thanksgiving and there is a chill in the atmosphere. We are used to season’s coming and going. It is the rhythm God created for us. It also applies to other changes. Today I read the account of Jesus and the possessed man. It, again, demonstrates that Jesus is God and He is over all things. Even the demons bow down and beg. I don’t understand the significance of the pigs and the destruction but noticed a change in assignment. The possessed man is clothed and seated in his right mind – the mind God provided and the same one the demons trapped. The unnamed man knows who saved Him and wants to stick close to Him but Jesus has other plans. Jesus…says, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” (Mark 5:19) The account ends there with Jesus leaving in a boat to meet others, bringing the grace He alone embodied. The saved man, “Went off and began to proclaim in Decapolis (his home town?) what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone marveled. It does not say everyone believed but the man was obedient and had an affect by following Jesus’ instructions versus physically following Jesus – his hearts desire. If you know me, I have been preparing to do this same work and did not cross a lake but crossed an ocean more than once. I have been learning obedience and leaving the results to God. Today I’m preparing for Thanksgiving week with no real next assignment except to “tell them how much the Lord has done for me.” We are never done proclaiming until Jesus takes us home. That is the point and not crossing lakes or oceans. What’s next? Is it go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for me? I hope more obedience regardless of the state, country, church, or neighborhood where we live. I’m aware of the change of season and I’m still always surprised. The leaves are almost all down and I’ve layered a sweater over the usual retirement uniform.
near Athens