What Matters?

Mark 5:11-15 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
 
WHAT do you think? Is it better to restore one man’s life or save 2,000 pigs?
   Legion, the name of the demons in the man, pleaded with Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” Why? One reason is they do not want Jesus to send them to hell. They are demons. They know how horrible it is in the abyss. The second reason is that destruction is their purpose. All they know to do is to destroy mankind and his possessions. Through this, their goal is to extinguish our relationship with the Sovereign LORD.
   We learn this in Job’s story when the devil destroyed Job’s possessions and then his family (Job 1). But Satan wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to destroy Job’s health, too (Job 2). Satan did this to turn Job against God. The devil’s arrogance challenged the LORD: Job 1:10 “But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The demons wanted to destroy this property of the Gentile community, so they would curse Jesus to his face.
   People do this, don’t they? When hard times or great loos happens to people, it’s easy to say, “This is your fault Jesus!” Job’s wife even counseled Job, “Curse God and die.” (Job 2:9) “Don’t trust God! Just give up and stop living.”
   You probably know people who have responded to hard times in that way. They live cursing God as they blame him for their heartache. If we think God owes us with only good things, we can easily blame God when things are bad. After all, he is the Sovereign LORD. Why would God cause or allow bad things to happen to his people?
   We must understand that in God’s complete control of the world, he allows evil to exist, so we can know his goodness. The Lord does not want you to be a robot programmed to obey him. He wants your heart to be affected with his love, so your will freely choose to obey his commands. He desires your worship because you love him, not because he forces you. Under God’s sovereign authority, evil exists until the day he says it won’t. Your daily walk is to trust him as Satan’s forces strive against you. Confess his majesty over your life. Respond to the grief as Job did: Job 2:10 “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
   The Gentile community placed the pigs above the man. Their fear of more material loss chased Jesus away. When you are saved in Jesus’ blood, know you can accept hardship because he has given you life everlasting.
     More on this in the next lesson.