Insight from Luke 8

As part of my devotional time this morning I read the story of the Gerasene demoniac in Luke 8. I was particularly intrigued when the man who had been delivered from demon oppression asked Jesus for permission to travel with Him. Jesus refused permission, but instead "sent him away, saying, 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him." At first glance we might find this strange. The man wanted to go with Jesus and be one of His traveling disciples. He wanted to spend more time with the One who had delivered/saved him. But Jesus had a different idea. More important than "soaking up" more of Jesus was the man's responsibility to share what God had done for him with those who knew him best: the people in his own town. Spending time with Jesus is of course not wrong: in fact too many of us spend far too little time with Him. Conversely, however, this incident reminds us that our time spent with Christ has a dual purpose: it grows us up in Him, AND it prepares us to share Him with others. We are not called to be sponges only. We are also called to be salt and light. We are called to be sharers of the good news, not hoarders of the good news. I invite you today to tell someone how much God has done for you. Many Blessings, Dan