18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 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.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
As we look back at this passage, there was a whole lot of begging going on. The demon-driven man at first begged Jesus to leave him alone, then, when it was obvious Jesus would not, begged Him to send these demons into the pigs. When the owners and other townsfolk came out to meet Jesus and see what had happened they begged Jesus to leave them alone as well. Now, this man who has been delivered begs Jesus to take him along with Him. Jesus refuses, but He does not do what He did at times; He does not tell him to remain silent. Instead, He tells him to go and give God the glory for what He had done for him. God does not save us all to go, but He does save us all to tell. This man had much to be thankful for. He was so drastically changed people could see God's mercy on his life; what he had to do was tell them how God had done it. The same is true of us: God has done much for us; what people need to see is the change Christ has brought; what we need to do is tell them all He has done - what He has taken away from us, and what He has given to us. May that happen today.
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