Often as a Christian you will have to do things that may not make you popular with others. You may do what is right and good for the final outcome, but others may not appreciate what you do at that moment.
A friend of mine’s dad would tell his three girls, “Do you want to be popular or respected?” One of the daughters jokingly (maybe a little seriousness at that stage in her life) would say, “I want to be popular!” J I now work with one of his daughters and I imagine that her daddy’s words ring through her mind often as she is in a position to make some tough decisions that may not make her so popular, but in the end, she will be respected for standing up for the right thing.
When I read Matthew 8:28-34, the story about Jesus sending the demons out of the two madmen into the pigs, the aforementioned thought came to mind. Unfortunately, Jesus didn’t become popular or respected with those townspeople.
Here, their town had at least two men that were possessed by demons. Those demons knew who Christ was and that He would one day be coming back to judge all. (Hmmm, good point to make….Do you “know of” Christ or do you really “know” Christ? Hopefully the latter. I hope you know to know that you know Christ! He is coming back again. Be ready.)
When Christ encountered these demon possessed men, they begged Jesus to send them to the pigs if He chose to send them away from those men. (It sounds like they not only knew of Jesus, but knew of His power!) All Jesus had to say was one word, “Go!” They went into the pigs, freaked the herdsmen out, and the pigs ended up drowning. Guess who drowned with them? Yep, the demons drowned.
This did not make the townspeople very happy. I believe that they were looking at the “now” and how their food, income, or livelihood was now gone. They pleaded with Christ to leave their region.
He told the pigs to “Go!” and the townspeople told Jesus to “Go!” Ouch. I couldn’t imagine telling God to “Go!”
I wonder about those “madmen” that have become “sensible-men”. I wonder what a witness they became for Christ and shared The Good News with others.
I wonder if those townspeople would have seen the benefit of Christ saving those two men, if they would have been blessed beyond because of their belief and faith.
Jesus was not very popular with those people, but did He gain the respect of those two new sensible-men? He already had the respect of the demons. Should we people display a little more respect to The Authority?
Prayer: “Lord, “Stay!” Thank You that You are in my life. Thank You for the opportunity to truly know You. I know that I may not be popular with some of the choices that I make in life that hopefully bring glory to You, but I hope that people will eventually learn to respect the choices I’ve made. Amen.”
Blessings to all.
January 12
