Day 23 - Love First: What's Wrong With Me?

Love First: What's Wrong With Me?

When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
Mark 5:2-5

One of the life challenges many fear and have to face at some point is wondering whether (or realizing that) they or someone they love are damaged. Before you completely blow that off, let’s take a moment to look at the other faces of "damaged." Flawed, impaired, blemished, spoiled, distressed, crushed, fractured, fragmented, shattered, defective, abnormal, inadequate, injured. Does that make it seem a little more personal? Can you relate to feeling like any of those? Do you love someone who feels any of those?

Demon possession is pretty scary to even think about. The Exorcist has scared most of us more than once. Let’s not dwell on the demon possession part. Instead, let's focus on the visible signs that this person—this being—recognized that something was wrong with him. He would roam the tombs and hills night and day, crying out and cutting himself in his grief and devastation. Others were straight up afraid of him. We can pretty much guarantee that he didn't get many visits. But he was desperate for care, for attention...for love. The moment he saw Jesus, he fell on his knees and begged Jesus not to torture him. How damaged must he have been that the first thought that crossed his mind was being tortured?

Not many have been possessed by demons like this man, but many of us have felt inadequate to the point of quitting. We have felt flawed and defective. We know people who seem that way...maybe we have even asked ourselves, "What's wrong with them?" or said, "They're not normal."

But that isn't the end of it. Love First says that we respond—that we do something. In Jesus' case, he cast the demons out of the man. He showed the man compassion and love. He didn't worry about what others would say or do, he responded out of love first. It was challenging to the people who witnessed what happened. Verse 15 says: "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."

It will—and does—challenge us.

Your Mission
Meditate on today’s scripture passage. Could you show compassion without judging? What does it take to do so for you?