Mark 5:1-20

The story of the demon possessed man in Gerasene region always has me hearing the voice of Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission (YWAM), preaching this on this passage and looking at the reaction of the local people. There was this sentence in Loren’s sermon: “They chose swine over the Savior.”

The local people were mad at Jesus for running their economic generator into the water, ignoring the fact he had just healed a man who had been harassing all of them for years. They had managed the crazy, but when real power showed up, they feared.

This is the tendency in my own life. I will tolerate crazy. If I can manage something chaotic in my life and not have to change much, I will. Change often comes at too steep a price. When change becomes unavoidable because the pain is too great, then… I might start to think about change.

The herders in that region knew the reality of the demon possessed man. They could keep it managed. But when real power showed up, they feared. They knew it was real and they also knew THEY couldn’t manage it. That power was greater and that meant change. They could tolerate the crazy. The power wasn’t something they wanted to deal with, so they asked Jesus to leave.

Real freedom, real release, in our lives happens when we release. We release our struggles and attempts and strivings and allow a power greater than us, one that loves us and wants our good, to come in and begin to lead in a new direction. It is frightening, to be sure. We will tolerate a lot of crazy when we don’t want to give up full control!

Don’t choose the crazy. Walk in the unknown led by the One who lovingly knows the way.