They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. (Luke 8:31-32 NASB)
The legion of demons was not at all stupid. It was apparent to them that the Son of God had arrived, and He was in charge. They knew they were about to be thrown out, with no coming back. They had been commanded to leave the man before, but had always returned stronger and more numerous. There would be none of that this time. They knew that for sure.
Demons exist, at least in part, to torment mankind. They have rejected the service of Almighty God and have ended up serving the evil one. It seems that, in leaving the man, the demons had two options. They could go back to the pit of hell or find another being to possess. This should be significant to us, but I have never heard anyone mention this next point. Hell is a horrible place. It is so dreadful that even the Legion of demons begged Jesus not to send them back there!
If demons abhor the possibility of going to hell, we should, too. If demons abhor the possibility of going to hell, we should be filled with such concern for those we love (as well as a lost and perishing world) that we pray non-stop that they would find a saving relationship with our Lord.
In a time when the forces of evil have been so romanticized as to seem attractive, we need to reconsider the difference between light and darkness, good and evil. We need look no further than the naked, raging man in the tombs to see that we want no part of that darkness, and we should live accordingly.
We are called to be the light in a dark and lonely world. Is our light a warm, welcoming glow? If it were, perhaps it would be more attractive to those who have been held captive in the darkness for far too long. Dear ones, let's be sure we live in such a way that it is obvious we believe the faith we claim. Only then will we draw others to the Lord we say we love.
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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-wonder-girls-take-walk.html
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Our terrorist/terror group of the week is the former ISIS, now the Islamic State. Their leader is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. To learn more about them and their goal of spreading radical jihad and sharia rule throughout the world, click here: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/radical-obedience-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi.html
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