In life, most of our problems are self inflicted. We make bad choices, even when we know what
the good ones should have been. We listen
to others whose opinions are steeped in the same evil we bathe in every
day. We rationalize that we make the
choice of lesser of two evils. Or we
conclude that it is better for us to indulge this sin to prevent us from
indulging in a much worse one (somehow we construct a doctrine of preventative
sin). And what is the net result; our
pain, others pain, the normal results of the cancer of ANY evil we choose to
embrace. But sometimes beyond just a
one-time punch in the face, the evil path we have followed may have lingering
effects. We may find ourselves bound to
it. Linked indelibly with evil itself,
and now powerless to free ourselves from it.
Lest you think this cannot happen to you, consider the case
of the demoniacs, or demon possessed people in the Bible. Do you honestly believe these were simply
devil worshippers who got too far into their own religion? No, more than likely these were simple Jewish
folks who had some knowledge of the true God.
More than likely they knew about
God, but did not truly know God. They
were acquainted with the concept of God, but likely had not embraced him. When the supernatural of evil design first
confronted them, they did not run in fear.
They did not call out to the supreme God of the Universe to save them from
Satan. They wondered at the impossible
they were witnessing with their own eyes.
The supernatural defies logic, and sometimes bends the apparent laws of
nature. Instead of trembling, they
explored, they indulged their curious nature – attempting to find the source of
this power and adopt it for themselves.
They may even have believed this power was a manifestation of God,
though it was not. And at some point
while trying to harness a power God did not design them to have, they find
themselves yielding control to a spirit with no intentions of leaving, or of
doing good in any way. They are then
demon possessed.
What is the response from the ‘religious’ community around
them? They fear these demon possessed
and drive them away from any ‘civilized’ areas.
They try to capture them with chains, but supernatural power easily
breaks chains made of simple iron and steel.
And supernatural strength can easily keep at bay men of human
strength. So there remains an uneasy
tension between ‘religious’ believers and the demoniacs. As long as they remain separated by distance
each seems to live-with the other. Until
Christ comes along, that is.
When Christ enters our world He has absolutely no fear of
any demon. He walks right through
demoniac territory and predictably they attack.
His disciples first instinct is to flee in terror. But Christ meets them calmly and with only
words. The demons recognizing the
divinity of Christ masked in this human form, ask the first logical question, -
“art Thou come to torture us before the appointed time?” There is no answer. But Christ drives them out by commanding it
to be so, and out they go. On one incident
they were driven into nearby pigs that immediately committed suicide. These men who had so long endured the
captivity of the demons, were now free from their control. They were beyond hope, and yet now free. Up until Christ had come into the world,
theirs might have been a permanent death sentence, but now that is no longer
the case. Christ went on to give his
disciples (almost 70 in number at that point) the ability to cast out demons in
His name, and they did so. The Catholic
church today seems to be the only formal organization who maintains a group
dedicated to casting out demons. Though
the demons have not ever gone away. What
happened before, can happen again.
But our problems seldom rise to the level of demonic
possession do they? More often they
intertwine the feelings of loved ones with the reality of our deeds. We mistreat a loved one for such a long
period of time we drive the love out of them, and then bemoan the loss we have
caused. We lie, cover it up, and try to
keep hidden our real feelings for fear of hurting another and develop false
lives for ourselves as we lack the courage to confront the truth. We nag, pester, procrastinate, and otherwise
annoy the person we love so badly we see health affects in them go wrong. Grey hair, wrinkles, and heart ailments do not
always simply appear from age, sometimes they are sped along by a partner who
chooses not see their own negative influence on their loved one. Then greed, selfishness, fear, or other
emotions hold us in check, and ‘prevent’ us from rectifying the situation. Truly it is our weakness that holds us
hostage.
But this is the beauty of our God, our weakness, and our
recognition of it, is His strength. When
we realize our own powerlessness, we realize the true power of God. For it is NOT us who suddenly changes the
world around us to get us out of the situation we created – it is God who does
this. In ways we could not have even
imagined. All of the sudden the strength
of our God is revealed. Attitudes and
feelings change for the better. A long
time enemy becomes our closest friend.
Forgiveness descends like a blanket and covers all who have been wounded
from our offenses. Demons look on this
and literally run in terror. It has been
evil’s job to blind us to God’s strength, and make us believe we have all the
power we need. After all, if it is our
weakness that has held us here, cannot our own strength bail us out? Quite simply, NO. Evil is greater than us. But God is greater than ALL. We are not to rely on ourselves, but in
humility to realize our need of God, and call on His infinite strength.
Evil intends for us to see the magnitude of the problems and
grief of our situations and give up hope.
Evil tries to overwhelm us with our own deeds, guilt us to death with
our own choices, for it is in fact our responsibility we find ourselves in the
situation we created. Evil wants us to
die in the conditions we have created.
But not so. Look up, and find a
Savior who again will live up to this term.
Our God descends at our invitation and carefully as if pulling us from
the middle of a bush coated in sharp thorns, He removes us from the situation
we created. He provides a way of
escape. Might it be painful, and could
we bleed a bit along the way? Yes. It may not be pain free, for we may have
caused MUCH pain in the creation of our conditions, but the pain will be managed
by the God who knows our limits of endurance.
It will be reduced by a caring Father whose number one concern is with
the well being of His children, both of us, and of those we have wounded.
While sometimes we see the pain of another, we are powerless
to remove them from it. This is not a
work we can perform for each other as we lack the skills, abilities, and
control to succeed. Only God can do this
for anyone. What we must do when we
encounter another in self-inflicted painful situations is to love them
first. Do not add misery to their pain
by condemning them for something they are already self-condemned for. Do not throw gasoline on a fire, by
attempting to convict them of wrong.
Instead be a bandage of healing by offering your love, your acceptance,
and the source of your healing. Pray
with the wounded and for the wounded if they refuse to pray with you. But do not curse the wounded with your pride,
your condemnation, and your arrogance.
You act as Satan when you adopt the role of accuser of the
brethren. Instead act as Christ, forgive
without them asking, accept without them understanding how you can do so, and
love them no matter what they respond to you.
If they spit in your face, wipe it off, and point them to Christ. If they curse you, apologize for their anger,
and remind them He can really help them out.
If they strike out at you, remember it is their pain and guilt that
drives them, have patience with them, retreat from them but remind them you go
to pray for them and have already forgiven them for today’s activities. This is what a Christian can do for
another. It is what Christ does for you,
yes you. You have done these things to
Him in your past, yet He stands at your side ready to bail you out of the worst
of problems and all you have to do is ask.
Our gospel is about salvation. The act of saving us. Extricating us from the evil we have
setup. Saving us from ourselves, from
our pain, from our fate, from our natural inclinations, from the bad choices of
others, and from evil itself. The gospel
is GOOD NEWS because it teaches hope, not condemnation. It teaches reconciliation, not division. It teaches unity and humility, not
self-reliance, and individuality. We are
all unique, yet all infected with the same disease. And we can all be saved with the same
cure. The cure of Christ. To abandon self, and embrace Christ, this is
the power of the gospel…
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