In this third blog about the demon-possessed man I want to talk a bit about the marks of healing, with emphasis on this verse from the story: “A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, for they wanted to see for themselves what had happened. And they saw the man who had been possessed by demons sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, clothed and sane.”
What are the marks of healing…the same for us as for that terribly ill man?
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He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, quietly. That means he was under his authority. He was no longer free to do his own thing. He was freed from his driving passions and insanity so that he could do God’s thing. Doing his own thing…being fixed on his own passions...had made him ill and opened the door to evil. Christian freedom is a paradox. When you submit to the Lordship of Jesus you are most free. We lose our freedom to gain a greater freedom.
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I would like for you to imagine yourself sitting at the feet of Jesus. What would he say to you? From what would he free you? On what path would he set you? When you are under stress this week, or when you are about to blow it royal, I want you to imagine you are sitting at the feet of Jesus. Listen to him. Weigh his direction. Learn to follow.
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He was clothed. His nakedness symbolized shamelessness, a rejection of values and boundaries. This is a common disease today as we are told that all truths and ethics are relative. All things being relative to our feelings, we are encouraged to do whatever seems right to us. Hear the wisdom of these words from the apostle Paul…”Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires…and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” The healed man was not only clothed in the robes of his day, but he had put on Christ.
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I would like for you to imagine yourself wrapping your person and your life in the presence of Christ. He is there. He has always been there. When you feel yourself slipping, getting ready to lose it, I want you to do a slow 10 count. Wrap yourself with his presence. Breathe deeply as you do so. By the time you get to 10 your mind will be changed and you will have taken another step forward, toward your creator.
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He was sane. Another way to translate that word is, ‘in your right mind.’ He saw the world as it is. He saw his true condition and he saw God’s response to his needs. He was able to choose the right course for his day; and was able to hope again. Sometimes the people around us wonder about us. They say that we are not ‘ourselves.’ To be our self is to be the person God created us to be, under his direction, following him, stepping into his purpose for our lives.
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I would like for you to imagine yourself having a conversation with Jesus. Ask him to give you clarity. Ask him what he wants you to be when you grow up. Ask him to walk every step with you as you work to be what he wants. Ask him for the courage to change. Then listen. Don’t give up. There is no going back, only forward, going home.
Prayer: “Great Father, I wish to lose myself in you. For too much of my life I have been lost in myself. Somehow, when I am lost in you, all else seems to fall in place and life becomes clear and good. I have wrestled with you the battle of control, even when I knew that you were right and I was not. Heal my mind so that I am able to choose rightly, and to walk ever closer to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”