How many pigs is your child worth?

Friday 1-8-16 (Home in Modesto, California)     

Scripture reading for today:    Gen 20 - 22     Luke 8

S=Scripture  O=Observation  A=Application  P=Prayer  SOAP for the soul.

S.  Luke 8:37-39  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.  NKJV

Luke 8:37-39 The witnesses and the huge crowd of Gadarenes were terrified by the power Jesus had displayed and they got together and kicked Him out of their territory.  So He humbly got back into the boat and left.  But now the poor guy who had been delivered from demons pled with Jesus, “Please, let me go with you!”  But Jesus said, “No, they all know you here.  Go tell your family and friends what great things God has done for you.”  And he obeyed, testifying about Jesus and His awesome power over demons throughout the whole city.  NUHV

O.  Jesus became a trouble maker both for the devil and for pig farmers.  So they gave Him the boot.  The “miracle man” begged, “Make room in the boat for me, too.”  Usually Jesus encouraged people to follow Him.   Yet He had a more effective plan for this guy.  This man was already well-known for his blood-curdling screams in the night, for breaking chains and ropes and for terrorizing the city.  His demonized tragic life had been discussed in businesses and back yards by everyone in the city.  So Jesus sent him back home where without doubt hundreds would see and hear and believe in God’s power over all the legions of hell.

A.  If it had been me I know I would have begged for a seat in the “Jesus boat”, too.  In such a short time his life had been transformed from a living-hell to “wholeness”.  But God’s plan for this man was for him to become an evangelist.  “Go share the good news!”

I would have thought the transformation of that scary man into a normal human being might have brought joy to the community and a welcome to the Deliverer, but the floating carcasses of dead pigs washing up on the shore meant a heavy economic loss to the community.  The presence of Jesus... blessing the souls of men, women and children was in the balance... and the herd of dead pigs won.  How many children have been sacrificed for the “convenience” of divorce?  How many pigs is your child worth?

P.  Oh Lord!  What is the true value of my child’s soul?  How many pigs?  How many silver coins?  These commercially minded people weighed the cost and kicked You out of their area.  Judas Iscariot calculated and figured that You were worth 30 silver coins and sold You to Your killers.  Right now some couple is considering divorce and weighing the worth of their child.  On another front some missionary is pleading for minimum support to carry the Your message of deliverance to a people who live in constant terror of the devil.  Souls of adults, youth and children are in the balance.  Without Your powerful Gospel they are doomed to continue their downward spiral and drag their children with them.  I, who love You, am forced to weigh the value of human souls and respond.   Awaken me to Your scale of evaluation.  Amen.

Ralph