Please Leave

In Mark 5:1-20, we see a fantastic story of one of Jesus' miracles. Jesus heals a demon-possessed man, and the demons are cast into a herd of pigs who drown themselves. The focus of the story is on the man who has been healed, of course. However, what about the owner(s) of the pigs? The story tells us that the herd consists of about 2000 pigs. That's a lot of pigs!

Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. verse 17

I believe one of the reasons why these people want Jesus to leave is because they are so upset about losing the herd of pigs. And they certainly didn't want to lose anymore. 2000 pigs were quite enough! Isn't that just like us, though? When we have an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ, something from the world that we hold on to dearly begins to die.

Then we must figure out what to do next. Are we going to dwell on the loss and lament? Or are we going to get our eyes on the freedom Jesus has just given us? Are we going to get angry over our sacrifice or are we going to rejoice in the new life?

What are the pigs that you have lost? Are they a job or a friend or an addiction? More importantly, are you afraid of losing more pigs? Have you invited Jesus to stay or have you pleaded for Him to leave?