Be honest. How many of you have purposefully hid or turned in the opposite direction when you see that person or refused to answer your phone when that person's name shows up on the caller ID? Have you absolutely refused to make eye contact with that person who is begging for change at an intersection or pretended like you aren't home with those people ring your doorbell? I'll be honest, I have done all of those things.
Why do we avoid certain people or groups of people who cross our paths? For some there may be a history involved where safety is an issue, yet for the majority of us our rationale is different. That person irritates you or you simply don't have the time to engage them in what will surely be a lengthy conversation. Those people are not like you and you don't know how to relate to them in a positive way. That person will only take what you give him and squander it on something shameful. Those people believe in something totally different than you do, and it's just a waste of time trying to argue your view to them.
That person and those people have great needs for sure, but there are others better suited to meet those needs, right?
Jesus met that person one day outside of a cemetery of all places (Luke 8:26-39). This guy was for all intents and purposes a nutcase. The Bible tells us he was possessed by demons who caused him to live and behave in ways that would make most of us cringe. He walked around buck naked, lived in a graveyard, probably howled like a dog at the moon, and basically was a misfit in society. The towns folk tried to contain him by chaining him up like an animal, but he would often break these chains and get even a louder and wilder.
None of this seemed to bother Jesus. In fact, it was this person that He was compelled to go toward, to meet where he was. Notice what Jesus did with those who the rest of the world was desperately trying to avoid.
Jesus did not try to manage people in order to minimize their impact. This demon possessed buy was kept chained up, I'm sure as a way to protect other people more than to protect himself. If we can just keep people quiet/out of the spotlight/off of our street corners/out of our neighborhoods then we can get on with living our own lives the way we want to. After all, how much can we do for them? Can we really help them at all? Those are questions Jesus would never think to ask.
Jesus was not afraid to meet people where they were. Truthfully, I don't find much satisfaction in hanging out in graveyards. I prefer to spend time with people who are alive. But Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and lost people are dead inside. Dead people hang out with other dead people. That's where this guy was, in the graveyard and so that's where Jesus went. Where was everyone else? Hiding out in the comfort of their own community, that's where.
Jesus took the time to engage people. He didn't just pop in, drop off bag lunch or clean pair of clothes and then leave. No, after Jesus stepped into a person's life space He then took the time to invest in that person. This man had lots of issues. Jesus didn't put His arm around the man and tell him to do better. Instead, He addressed the core issue of sin in this man's life -- He addressed his heart need. The demons in this man knew who Jesus was and they feared Him. The people that we meet on a daily basis may not know who Jesus is, but they know that their lives are incomplete. What we know is that Jesus is the only One who can fill the void in their lives. Engage them with the gospel!
Finally, Jesus stuck with people even after life change had occurred. After casting the demons out of this man, we find him "sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed, and in his right mind." Talk about a life change! Yet that is just the beginning. The gospel works not to just initially change our lives from death to life, but it also the gospel that sustains us everyday of our lives here on earth. This guy now wanted to travel with Jesus as one of His disciples, yet Jesus had an even greater task for him to complete. All of those townspeople -- the ones who were scared of the man when he was demon possessed were not more terrified of him that he was in his right mind -- they need this same transforming gospel that had radically saved that guy. So Jesus told the man to go into the town and make sure that everyone knew "all that God has done for you."
Those people are everywhere. You will more than likely run into that person today. May we realize that these encounters are for the sake of the gospel and not for maintaining our own convenience or personal comfort level.
Why do we avoid certain people or groups of people who cross our paths? For some there may be a history involved where safety is an issue, yet for the majority of us our rationale is different. That person irritates you or you simply don't have the time to engage them in what will surely be a lengthy conversation. Those people are not like you and you don't know how to relate to them in a positive way. That person will only take what you give him and squander it on something shameful. Those people believe in something totally different than you do, and it's just a waste of time trying to argue your view to them.
That person and those people have great needs for sure, but there are others better suited to meet those needs, right?
Jesus met that person one day outside of a cemetery of all places (Luke 8:26-39). This guy was for all intents and purposes a nutcase. The Bible tells us he was possessed by demons who caused him to live and behave in ways that would make most of us cringe. He walked around buck naked, lived in a graveyard, probably howled like a dog at the moon, and basically was a misfit in society. The towns folk tried to contain him by chaining him up like an animal, but he would often break these chains and get even a louder and wilder.
None of this seemed to bother Jesus. In fact, it was this person that He was compelled to go toward, to meet where he was. Notice what Jesus did with those who the rest of the world was desperately trying to avoid.
Jesus did not try to manage people in order to minimize their impact. This demon possessed buy was kept chained up, I'm sure as a way to protect other people more than to protect himself. If we can just keep people quiet/out of the spotlight/off of our street corners/out of our neighborhoods then we can get on with living our own lives the way we want to. After all, how much can we do for them? Can we really help them at all? Those are questions Jesus would never think to ask.
Jesus was not afraid to meet people where they were. Truthfully, I don't find much satisfaction in hanging out in graveyards. I prefer to spend time with people who are alive. But Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and lost people are dead inside. Dead people hang out with other dead people. That's where this guy was, in the graveyard and so that's where Jesus went. Where was everyone else? Hiding out in the comfort of their own community, that's where.
Jesus took the time to engage people. He didn't just pop in, drop off bag lunch or clean pair of clothes and then leave. No, after Jesus stepped into a person's life space He then took the time to invest in that person. This man had lots of issues. Jesus didn't put His arm around the man and tell him to do better. Instead, He addressed the core issue of sin in this man's life -- He addressed his heart need. The demons in this man knew who Jesus was and they feared Him. The people that we meet on a daily basis may not know who Jesus is, but they know that their lives are incomplete. What we know is that Jesus is the only One who can fill the void in their lives. Engage them with the gospel!
Finally, Jesus stuck with people even after life change had occurred. After casting the demons out of this man, we find him "sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed, and in his right mind." Talk about a life change! Yet that is just the beginning. The gospel works not to just initially change our lives from death to life, but it also the gospel that sustains us everyday of our lives here on earth. This guy now wanted to travel with Jesus as one of His disciples, yet Jesus had an even greater task for him to complete. All of those townspeople -- the ones who were scared of the man when he was demon possessed were not more terrified of him that he was in his right mind -- they need this same transforming gospel that had radically saved that guy. So Jesus told the man to go into the town and make sure that everyone knew "all that God has done for you."
Those people are everywhere. You will more than likely run into that person today. May we realize that these encounters are for the sake of the gospel and not for maintaining our own convenience or personal comfort level.
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