The 5/20 verse for today is Mark 5:20. In verses 18-20, the Message says, "As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn't let him. Jesus said, "Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you." The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town. "
Here is a man who had been severely tortured by demonic possession. Earlier in this chapter, the bible describes Jesus demanding a legion of demons to come out of him. He spent his days and nights in the tombs of the local cemetery screaming and beating himself with stones. The locals tried to restrain him and he always broke free; he could not be restrained. After Jesus ordered the demons out of this man and into a herd of pigs, all 2000 pigs plunged to their death down the steep hillside into a lake. All the herdsmen literally ran into the city and into the nearby countryside telling everyone what had just happened.
That's not a story you hear every day, so everyone rushed onto the scene to see for themselves what had just happened. They saw the previously insane man, from whom Jesus had just driven out the legion of demons, sitting there perfectly sane and clothed. They all knew what a transformation this was. Those that had seen what happened to the man and the pigs could not stop talking and they were telling everyone about it. The crowd freaked out and their fear of what had just transpired caused them to beg Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
That is where we pick up on verse 18-20. As Jesus is leaving, this man, who had just been delivered from such a horrible existence, pleaded to go along with Jesus. But, Jesus, who must have known just how much our stories speak to others, told the man to go back and tell everyone what the Lord had done for him and how merciful He had been to him. The man began to do just that and he told everyone in the area. There could only be one reaction to such a story....they were amazed at what he told them!
I heard a funny account today of how social networking dominates our thinking, and we can't wait to use our social network of choice to tell everyone we know about our "status". This story reminds me of social networking. Sometimes, we put the most ridiculous comments in our status updates. Guilty! Or we often check others' updates to see what they are thinking or doing, even though their status updates can be as ridiculous as ours. Can you imagine if the man who was delivered of the demons, or the people who saw it happen, had access to social networking tools back then? This account of what occurred that day would certainly be a YouTube sensation. Talk about viral; everyone would be tweeting about it! I mean, really, this would be something worth talking about.
So, do you have a status update? I have a feeling the Lord wants to do, or has already done, something great in your life. Why not let him bring sanity to your life today? Believe me, you won't be able to keep it to yourself when He delivers you from your once-crazy life. You may even want to jump onto facebook as quickly as possible to tell everyone you know how merciful the Lord has been to you. I'll be looking for your status update!
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