Sitting at Jesus' Feet, Clothed, and in One's Right Mind!

Sunday afternoon, January 13, 2008

This is what Jesus said to Legion after He had cast the “legion” of demons out of him: “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you” (Luke 8:39a). This is Legion’s response: “And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (vs. 39b). To be sure, this man was well-aware of the great things that God had done for him—very well-aware! He had been demon-possessed, had not worn clothing for a long time, lived in tombs, instead of a house, and most of the time he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard (see vs. 27 & 29); however, now he is sitting at the feet of Jesus—clothed and in his right mind (vs. 35b)! There is no wonder that he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city the great things that God had done for him!

I really do not mean to hurt your feelings (seriously) but the truth is this: before Jesus rescued you (and me!) and set us free, we were in the same fix as Legion—even worse! No, you might not have lived in tombs and you might have been fully clothed; however, you (and I!) were indeed bound with the chains and shackles of sin, hopelessly doomed to such a terrible existence. In other words, if Legion had something to tell, then you can bet your life that you and I have something to tell, something worth telling not only an entire city, but also the entire world!

There is something about this “sitting at Jesus feet, clothed, and in my right mind” that sets my feet to dancing! In my opinion, this is newsworthy—world-wide newsworthy! I mean, to go from living in tombs, shackled, and demon-possessed, to sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in my right mind is quite a leap!! The miracle of miracle, is my guess!

Anyway, when I read this tonight, I couldn’t help but think about the contrast between our response to the good news and Legion’s response; we spend so much time trying to dissect the Scriptures, debating whether “this” is truth or not, and trying to convince others that we have it right and they have it wrong, but Legion had only one thing on his mind—telling anyone who would listen about the good things that God had done for him.

I really do think there is a message in this for you and for me and it is probably past time for us to hear it: God did not call us to dissect and debate the Scriptures; instead, He called us to be His witnesses not only at home (Jerusalem), but also to the remotest parts of the world. In other words, He called us to go into all the world and tell everyone about the good things He has done for us.

You see, a credible witness can witness only to what he/she has seen; the debate is fine, as is being a student of the Scriptures, but in the end our task is to be His witnesses—to tell others what we have seen with our own eyes (the great things He has done in our lives!).

Please allow me to issue this challenge to you: be on the lookout for opportunities to tell others about the good things He has done for you, and tell them! Be His witness! Remember this, if you choose to take the challenge: most of those to whom Legion witnessed, were scared out of their wits (vs. vs. 35b)! You think about that—