Out of the Boat

Today's Bible Reading: MARK 5:1-43; MATTHEW 8:28-9:26; LUKE 8:26-56

Mark 5:19

And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Sometimes God does something incredible in our lives and we are taken back by what He did. In reality, an experience like this should be the catalyst for you to tell others “how much the Lord has done for you”. But you hesitate. You are reluctant to say anything, perhaps because you fear they will doubt your report or you are afraid they will not be as excited as you are for what the Lord has done in your life. But when God does something fantastic in our lives, we should tell everyone how He has intervened in our situation. Saints and sinners alike need to hear that God is not a dead deity, but He is alive and actively involved in the affairs of your life.

Jesus healed a man possessed with many demons. The tombs were his home. He was shunned by society, relinquished to roam the tombs. They had shackled him with chains. His body was riddled with scars from constantly cutting himself. He was naked, untamed, and continually crying out. He was left to languish among the dead.

An encounter with Jesus transformed him. Christ changed him. Now he was seated at the feet of Jesus, he was quiet, clothed and in his right mind. Everyone marveled at his metamorphosis. He had been altered by the Almighty. He was a living testimony of the Lord’s transforming power. If his life could be made new, then any life could be changed by an encounter with Jesus. His conversion could happen to anyone who truly engaged Christ.

Now his heart’s desire was to get in the boat and ride with Jesus. He just wanted to remain with the one who loved him and redeem him. But who wouldn’t want to stay with the one who showed them so much compassion when they had been condemned by their community. He wanted to simply stay and sit with Jesus. But as he tried to get in the boat, Jesus refused Him access.

Jesus had other plans. Many times when Jesus would heal someone, he would tell them to be silent. He would tell them not to let people know about what happened. This case was different. All this man wanted to do was ride in the boat with Jesus. He wanted to stay close to his Savior. He wanted to hang with the disciples. He wanted to be with church folk. He wanted to be in community. Is that so wrong?

Jesus negated his notion. He challenged him to get out of the boat and go tell others what happened to him. He commanded him to leave his new found companions to go back to his former community. He wanted him to tell others of his transformation. He wanted him to tell his story to sinners. Jesus called him to get out of the vessel full of saints and go to the village full of sinners.

Here is a great lesson for us. As believers we enjoy the company and companionship of fellow believers, as we should. They are our friends and expended family. We love to ride in the Jesus boat with them. Yet often we become so comfortable in the community of the saints that we lose sight of the community of sinners around us. We become unwilling to get out of our Jesus boat. We hesitate to tell others of our transformation. We are reluctant to communicate about our “Jesus change”. We are unwilling to proclaim the good news of the gospel. We become settled with the saints.

But Jesus commands us not just to gather, but to go. He tells us to get out of the comfort of the boat of the saints and go to community of sinners. This man did just that. He took the message of the gospel to his “friends”. He obeyed Jesus. He went back into the community that condemned him and had enslaved him in the tombs. But they were the very ones that needed to see his transformation. They were those who needed to hear about the one who change Him and would change them too. We should do the same. We should get out of our Jesus boat and go tell our lost “friends’ about Him. Transformation told can lead to transformation experienced. So tell someone today “how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Today thank Jesus for His transformational power in your life. Ask Him to help you get out of boat of believers and share the story of your transformation with those who need to experience transformation. Tell someone today about your transformation.