A reflection on my quiet time from the other night:

²⁸And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.²⁹And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” ³²And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. ³³The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

I was reading through Matthew the other night and something that had never really hit me before clicked, these people asked Jesus to leave.

Jesus comes to their town, casts out some demons (which is good, and amazing) and the whole town hears and comes out to see him. I mean, these people are pretty amazed… but, they ask Jesus to pack up and leave. At first I read this and I’m thinking, what a buch of jerks, don’t they know who is in their town? Then I realized… I do that, all the time. I think we all do.

How many times are you living your life and God shows up and does something incredible. At first you are amazed, you run out to see him but then as you are running out you realize maybe his awesomeness has affected some other area of your life (the pigs ran off the cliff). So, it’s like these people heard and were amazed, came out and were like ‘Wow, this Jesus guy is pretty incredible… but the whole pig thing is a little inconvenient, I mean pigs cost money. Sorry Jesus, could you pleeeease leave now?’

It sounds ridiculous I know but, you do it to, trust me.

Following Christ is tough. Letting Him work in your life will not always be convenient, things of The Spirit are ‘folly in the world’s eye’. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

I hope this is making sense – I’m sort of scattered here but, it’s just something I wanted to share. I’m challenging you, and myself to not only run out to meet Christ but then to invite Him in. Don’t get freaked out when things don’t look right – keep running toward Him.