Just Show up

Read: Luke 8:26-39

Shortly after Jesus feeds the 5,000, He gets into a boat and heads to a foreign land opposite of Galilee. There, He encounters a demon-possessed man who is naked and homeless. The moment Jesus arrives, the man knows Jesus is special, simply by the fact that He was willing to show up. Jesus asks him, “What is your name?” Here, Jesus goes to a place where no one else wanted to go to be with this man, and He makes it very personal.

After Jesus heals the man, the people return and see the man is sitting at Jesus’ feet. Fearing His power, they ask Jesus to leave, and as he gets into his boat, the healed man begs Jesus to take him with him, but Jesus says to him, “Go home and tell how much God has done for you.” And the man obeyed.

If we are trying to find direction for today, we can look to the man who didn’t know a thing about how to reach a town who, after he had been set free from his demons, was willing to sit at Jesus’ feet and wait for direction. Jesus showed up, took care of the man’s needs and encouraged him to share all that He had done for him with others. Today, as we witness so many needs, we can take the opportunity to step away from our places of comfort, and extend ourselves to others by God’s grace. What great examples we have been given to follow!