Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Daily QT: 08/07/2007 Mark 5:1-5
1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
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The description of this man is so poignant to me. He cannot be chained and yet he is absolutely trapped and enslaved. How many people refuse to be "chained" by God? They don't want to believe in God, because they don't want to give up their lifestyles and follow His rules. This simplistic idea of the relationship of Christ and his followers actually leads people to a deeper enslavement to their own sins. People say they want to be free. Yet no one is truly free. We all serve a master - whether it be God, money, societal pressures, our own desires. Which master truly binds us? And which master truly frees? It seems paradoxical - that a life of purposeful service leads to freedom; whereas a self-serving life leads to entrapment.
This particular passage is so very precious to me as I met God some 10 years ago (October of 97.. wow, how time flies..) while hearing a message on these verses. I saw myself in this demon-possessed man then, and identified with the struggle he was going through, as ugly as it looks here. The utter sense of restlessness which I find in this man (and in me) is the paramount symptom of a heart that has placed its trust in something other than God. While I often think I'm free when I'm running around doing whatever it is that pleases me, me, me at the moment, God shows me that I indeed am not unless my life (daily) is first anchored in my trust and hope in God. When the universe I dwell in is set by the boundaries set by God, the chains can be broken. Thank you God for breaking the shackles and dying for my sins. Help me love u as You love me. Amen.
They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. (Mark 5:1-5 NASB)
As i read these verses, I think about how compassionate and sad Jesus must have been to see a person being possessed by an unclean spirit. I believe that Jesus wants to see His creation to be happy and satisfied in life, regardless of circumstances, because He loves us. That's the main reason why he came to save us, who are sinners. He welcomed anybody to Him, regardless of whether he/she was a convict, tax collector, prostitute, demon-possessed or ill person. He shows this love everyone of us today. Unfortunately, however, we are bound every day with shackles and chains of this world, being tempted by the Prince of this world.... In deed, "we are wretched poor souls," as Paul stated in the Book of Romans. We should pray to God to free us and to look upon the cross, where He died for us.
i agree completely with all of the above posters. when i read this passage, my first thoughts were, "oh man...that sucks" and then "breaking off chains? that's crazy!" and "man seriously spiritual warfare's real." then another realization dawned on me - that i may just as well be this person, trapped in my own struggles the world throws at me on a daily basis. obviously as sad and inhumane as chaining someone down may sound, mebe it was for his and others' safety. afterall he did cut himself with stones when not chained down, and who knows what else he was capable of doing without, of course, his knowledge. i think in may ways we live our lives like this man - trying to break free from these "chains" that seems to confine us, yet the freedom that we find is one that is dragging us deeper away from a true freedom that really sets us free.
this idea of feeling trapped, enslaved, chained -- it's really like being the "living dead." no coincidence i guess that this possessed man lives among the tombs.
i've received alot of insight from everyone's postings on these verses. thank you.
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