Leave Me Alone

Matthew 8:34  Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

Two demon possessed men had been terrorizing an area known as the Gadarenes. They would run out of the caves and were so violent people couldn’t go through the area. They saw Jesus and began shouting, asking Jesus to leave them alone.

Finally, the demons begged to be cast out of the men into a nearby herd of pigs. The pigs then decided to go for a swim in the lake and drowned. An old saying is that pigs can’t swim because their “tail area” isn’t watertight. I have no way, and no desire, to test this saying…

The demons had left the men. No more danger, so mission accomplished, right? The pig herders told the town, and the town people ran out so glad they could now enjoy the Gadarenes unmolested that they threw a parade and picnic for Jesus! Doritos and Dr. Pepper for everyone!

Um, no, that’s not how it went. The people got mad and asked Jesus to leave them alone. “Go mess up some other towns’ demon-possessed dudes and drown their pigs!”

Leave me alone. The most common reason people don’t want to hear about Jesus. They would rather live with the violence than lose something that is familiar, even if familiar is hurting them. How shortsighted. Living daily with pain, self-loathing, or worse yet, numbness, and not accepting the help, the new life that Jesus offers. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” There’s a life, and there’s a full life. Which side of that comma are you on?

Today’s Readings: 1 Samuel 24; Psalm 57,58; 1 Chronicles 8; Matthew 8