‘The crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.’ Mark 5:17 NLT
The Bible says when ‘those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs… the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.’ (Mark 5:16–17 NLT) They had just witnessed an astounding miracle, yet here they were ‘pleading with Jesus’ to leave them alone. Maybe they were afraid He’d interfere with their livelihood, like He did with the owner of the pigs. Or they thought He was so powerful and unpredictable they didn’t want Him messing with their lives. Either way, they wanted no part of what Jesus had to offer.
‘Leave me alone, God!’ Maybe you haven’t used those exact words, but are there areas in your life you’d just as soon He didn’t get involved in? Pastor Mark Roberts says: ‘If we put into words our secret thoughts, mightn’t they sound something like this: “You can have me when it comes to my family life, but leave me alone at work.” Or, “You’re welcome to touch my public actions, but don’t mess with my daydreams.” Or, “I’m willing to give You a tithe of my income, but leave the rest of my money alone.” Or, “I’m happy to have You in my life, Jesus, but don’t ask me to forgive my parents.” Or, “I want You to be my Lord… but I want to hang on to certain areas of behaviour… to keep on sinning in certain ways and resist You when it comes to certain relationships.”’ God wants all, not just a part of you. He wants to be Lord of every aspect of your life—including those areas where you’d like to be left to your own devices.
SoulFood: Rom 3:21–6:23, Luke 5:1–11, Ps 91, Pro 3:3–4
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