Week of March 1
Your Name is Beloved!
Read: Numbers 19-20; Psalm 28; Mark 5
“And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.”
Mark 5:15, ESV
Introduction
Jesus came to seek and to save suffering humanity. The familiar narrative of the Gerasene demoniac reminds us that Jesus has authority and power over debilitating mental illnesses (cf. Lk 8:26-39). He also demonstrated His control over nature (Luke 8:22) and crippling physical illnesses (Luke 8:43:48), as well as power over death itself (Luke 8:40-42, 49-56). The point was to show that He indeed is Lord over all creation. We must note this key truth because much that we encounter in our lives—sophisticated meteorology, biotechnologies, and pharmacology—have thoroughly distanced many sincere Christians from the power and intimacy that Christ provides in our trials.
Understanding the Bible Passage
The value of every human life
You have inherent worth. Spring is but a few short weeks away, and people will soon begin to till their gardens to prepare for planting. Let’s rework the soil of this passage a bit, turning it over and examining it from a different perspective. There are several moral implications. Demon possession, one form of what we term mental illness, had thoroughly isolated this man from any meaningful social and spiritual contact. We know it was demon possession because the account clarifies this for us (5:8). Even so, we do well to learn from Jesus’ response when He was confronted by this person (5:2). The very fact that Jesus responded directly to the man indicates the value of his human life (5:9). The technical term when applied to life’s sanctity is “intrinsic” value. You are inherently valuable to God!
You cannot lose this inborn worth. This man’s imbalance had a wicked and violent streak attached to it (5:3-4). We need not “Google” far to discover that the same holds true for violent offenders in our culture, some of whom suffer from mental illnesses. Our nation has been thrown into grief in recent years by the violence that some mentally-imbalanced individuals have inflicted upon innocents. Hopefully, we all know that there are also untold numbers of people who suffer from some mental illness who are not violent. God loved that man despite his torment.
God makes the broken person whole. This man, however, was tormented by so many demons that he was called “Legion.” (A Roman legion was comprised of 10 cohorts equaling 5000 soldiers.) He had become uncontrollable, and he took up residence in the tombs where people in that era believed demons lived (NAC). Nevertheless, the Lord who could call down ten thousand angels to His defense sought to bring wellness and wholeness to this hurting man’s life. Wellness included returning him to his community with a testimony of God’s healing. I certainly do not want to oversimplify the point, because evil often inflicts its destructive effects on individuals, entire families, and whole communities. Our nation has looked frantically in recent years for some place to point the finger of blame in the aftermath of school, mall, and other mass shootings. Sadly, we too often overlook the ultimate evil that resides in the minds and hearts and actions of humankind. It is this type of soul-illness that Christ came to heal.
You cannot lose this inborn worth. This man’s imbalance had a wicked and violent streak attached to it (5:3-4). We need not “Google” far to discover that the same holds true for violent offenders in our culture, some of whom suffer from mental illnesses. Our nation has been thrown into grief in recent years by the violence that some mentally-imbalanced individuals have inflicted upon innocents. Hopefully, we all know that there are also untold numbers of people who suffer from some mental illness who are not violent. God loved that man despite his torment.
God makes the broken person whole. This man, however, was tormented by so many demons that he was called “Legion.” (A Roman legion was comprised of 10 cohorts equaling 5000 soldiers.) He had become uncontrollable, and he took up residence in the tombs where people in that era believed demons lived (NAC). Nevertheless, the Lord who could call down ten thousand angels to His defense sought to bring wellness and wholeness to this hurting man’s life. Wellness included returning him to his community with a testimony of God’s healing. I certainly do not want to oversimplify the point, because evil often inflicts its destructive effects on individuals, entire families, and whole communities. Our nation has looked frantically in recent years for some place to point the finger of blame in the aftermath of school, mall, and other mass shootings. Sadly, we too often overlook the ultimate evil that resides in the minds and hearts and actions of humankind. It is this type of soul-illness that Christ came to heal.
The point: God knows your name
“Legion” was a name that had been given to the man, meaning he was a no-name man in a where-on-earth-is-it place. Jesus, the disciples, and the local townsfolk all knew geographically where they were, but Bible scholars have had some difficulty determining where this healing miracle took place (5:1). In fact, we only know each person in Mark 5 by his or her condition: demon possession (5:1-20), chronic hemorrhaging (5:25-34), and acute life-claiming illness (5:21-24, 35-43). Jesus, however, knew them as persons worthy of healing and peace. All of these miracles foreshadow the Gentile mission to come. We have directly benefited from the love God pours out on us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Applying the Bible to Your Life
In years past, I made lunch-time pastoral visits to a business that hired people with a wide variety of disabilities. Some of my most precious moments were spent at those meals. The people opened their hearts and lives and offered their friendship to me. Looking back, I never thought to identify them by their disabilities, but by their God-given possibilities.
Here is a spiritual thought. You may never have a similar opportunity to dine in such a place, but each day you have the occasion to enhance the worth of people inside your home! First, we made and kept a commitment in our home never to address a person in ways that diminished their self-worth. Words like “stupid,” “idiot,” and “dumb” were not permitted when we spoke to one another. We used proper names and words of blessing in our family, because we knew that human dignity is often wrapped up in how we address one another. Jesus calls each of us to himself and does so by our name to demonstrate our value.
Secondly, each name we use to address another human life is a dignity-builder and provides an awareness that life has significance. There is entirely too much destructive name-calling in our culture today! Christians do well to look at people and call them by their names, thus showing them that they have value. Our ministry to culture is to give witness to Jesus’ heart and actions. He came to seek and to save those who are lost. No amount of evil or sickness or even life-threatening circumstances changes the fact that God sees people as both infinitely precious and wanted. By way of application, our world’s people long to know that we care for them as Jesus did.
Here is a spiritual thought. You may never have a similar opportunity to dine in such a place, but each day you have the occasion to enhance the worth of people inside your home! First, we made and kept a commitment in our home never to address a person in ways that diminished their self-worth. Words like “stupid,” “idiot,” and “dumb” were not permitted when we spoke to one another. We used proper names and words of blessing in our family, because we knew that human dignity is often wrapped up in how we address one another. Jesus calls each of us to himself and does so by our name to demonstrate our value.
Secondly, each name we use to address another human life is a dignity-builder and provides an awareness that life has significance. There is entirely too much destructive name-calling in our culture today! Christians do well to look at people and call them by their names, thus showing them that they have value. Our ministry to culture is to give witness to Jesus’ heart and actions. He came to seek and to save those who are lost. No amount of evil or sickness or even life-threatening circumstances changes the fact that God sees people as both infinitely precious and wanted. By way of application, our world’s people long to know that we care for them as Jesus did.
Reflection and Action Steps
1. Ponder the meaning of your name and the circumstances by which you acquired it. Then, ponder the meaning of your name in Christ, “beloved,” and the circumstances by which you acquired it! Praise Him for your value in Him.
2. Gaze, as Christ did, upon the world that presses upon you each day. Who do you see reaching out and longing for someone to “see” him or her? Look upon that life through the eyes of Christ. Seek to be His hands and heart of ministry to that person.
3. For Families: This is an important passage about our identity in Christ. In our homes, we can apply the point of this devotional by setting guidelines against name-calling or dignity-robbing words or trash-talk, just like the example above.
In fact, the whole family can join in to decide, in this same spirit of valuing what God sees as “Beloved,” about how we will treat one another. Come together to decide how best to recognize and respect each other’s God-given worth.
Make three declarations that each of you will not do. (They may read something like, “I will not use derogatory words against my family members.”) Then decide upon three declarations that you will do. (These may be something like, “I will respect and honor my family members by speaking to them with kindness and courtesy.”) There are many ways to do this. When you are all agreed, write these guidelines on a poster-board and tape it to a prominent wall until the new change of attitude and conversation becomes a habit.
May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock
2. Gaze, as Christ did, upon the world that presses upon you each day. Who do you see reaching out and longing for someone to “see” him or her? Look upon that life through the eyes of Christ. Seek to be His hands and heart of ministry to that person.
3. For Families: This is an important passage about our identity in Christ. In our homes, we can apply the point of this devotional by setting guidelines against name-calling or dignity-robbing words or trash-talk, just like the example above.
In fact, the whole family can join in to decide, in this same spirit of valuing what God sees as “Beloved,” about how we will treat one another. Come together to decide how best to recognize and respect each other’s God-given worth.
Make three declarations that each of you will not do. (They may read something like, “I will not use derogatory words against my family members.”) Then decide upon three declarations that you will do. (These may be something like, “I will respect and honor my family members by speaking to them with kindness and courtesy.”) There are many ways to do this. When you are all agreed, write these guidelines on a poster-board and tape it to a prominent wall until the new change of attitude and conversation becomes a habit.
May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock
Posted in Pathway Perspectives