Rejected

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. ~Luke 8:37 (NIV)



Luke 8:22-39 tells the story of a demon-possessed man whom Jesus restored to wholeness. The tale takes place in the region of the Gerasenes or Gadarenes, across the lake from Galilee.



The man's demon possession was so severe that he ran around without clothing and lived among the tombs. As soon as Jesus set foot on the ground, the demons (yes, there was more than one) began to shriek at Him, because they knew who Jesus was. The demons also pleaded that Jesus not torture them or send them to the Abyss, where all satanic beings will one day be confined (Revelation 9:1; 20:1, 3).



Instead they begged Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs. He obliged, and the herd subsequently read headlong into the lake and drowned. The tenders of the pigs ran off to report what had happened to the townspeople, immediately drawing a crowd to where Jesus was to see what had happened.



When they arrived, they found the once demon-possessed man in his right mind and clothed, sitting at Jesus' feet.



You would think they would be glad that the crazed man had been restored, but they weren't.



They were concerned that their herd of pigs had been drowned. They were more concerned about their possessions than they were about another human being.



They asked Jesus to leave. And He did.



Every person has a choice to make regarding Jesus. Either we accept Him and His free gift of grace, or we reject Him and ask Him to leave.



Jesus won't force Himself on anyone. He'll leave if that's what you really want Him to do, but I beg you to consider carefully your choice.



My pastor recently gave a quote in a Sunday morning message that stuck in the crevices of my brain. I don't know the quote exactly or even who originally said it, but the gist of the quote is this:



"Sin is man's way of telling God, 'Leave me alone.' Hell is God's way of saying, 'Okay.'"