Context for Healing (blog)

"...Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you..." (Mark 5:19)

Was suffering ever so concentrated as it was in the demon-possessed man of the Gerasenes?  Tombs, chains, a herd of pigs - all give us vivid context for the incredible healing that he experienced in his encounter with Jesus.Tormented by a legion of evil spirits, the man roamed restlessly outside of a society that had tried and failed to restrain him, and now feared him.  He cried out night and day, and cut himself with stones.  Miraculously, Jesus healed the man by sending the evil spirits into a herd of pigs, which rushed to their death in a nearby lake.While the owners of the pigs pleaded with Jesus to leave their region, the healed man begged to come with Jesus.  But Jesus sent the man home to tell people about how he had been healed.  The man's intense suffering now had new meaning and purpose as the context for others to experience Jesus' healing power, and to spread the good news!Prayer:  Jesus, bless our time at home.  Help us to share stories of your healing power in our lives, so that through them our families and neighbors can experience your saving love.