Free to Live! Free to Tell for paper

Jesus travels to the region of the Gerasenes where he is met by a man possessed by a legion of demons. Jesus drives the demons out of the man into a herd of pigs, who rush into the lake and drown. The townspeople came and saw the formerly demons possessed man dressed and in his right mind.  As Jesus is leaving the formerly demon posses man askes – “The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus 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.” Luke 8: 38, 39

I repeat – so the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. This man thought he had to do something extraordinary to repay Jesus, like leave his homeland, loved ones, and friends, and go live with and follow Jesus full time. But Jesus actually does give this freed man something extraordinary to do for Jesus. He has him witness what had happened to him to his hometown, how the Son of God set him free from a legion of demons. The man likely spoke simple words and was not obligated to persuade anyone, but simply to tell freely what he knew and experienced. The territory to which Jesus sent the man was certainly one of the most challenging mission fields to which he ever called anyone. The Gerasenes were in the Decapolis, a pagan area with little influence from the Jews. Later, as recorded in Luke and Matthew, crowds from the Decapolis followed Jesus. This crowd of followers was a testimony to the effectiveness of the healed man’s witness.

Your liberator, Jesus, can use you this way too. You have a Lord who has given you good news to tell! We have been given the message of reconciliation and the responsibility to tell that message to all those around us. And like the demon possessed man, you too have been set free from sin, death and the devil. You need not be a professional theologian or missionary, though God calls some to serve this way. As the Lord opens the door, you can speak in simple words of what Jesus has done for you and the truth he has revealed to you in his Word. We all have a reason for the hope of eternal life we now possess as Christians. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3: 15

You’re free in all of this, since it is not your obligation to convince anybody, but simply to testify to what you know. Conversion to Christianity is entirely the work of God. It is the Holy Spirit who choses and calls, and draws and enables people to come to faith. “He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” – No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,” John 6: 44 & 65

But the Holy Spirit will use your witness, which does not have to be professionally presented, to work faith in your hearers’ life. Even this simple man, freed from the control of demons, was effective in his witness in an area hostile to God. So you need to have no fear of failure. Simply witness your faith and leave the rest in God’s hands!

Blessings