August 14
Right reaction to rejection
And…there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. Luke 8:27 (NKJV)
One of the more remarkable miracles of Jesus occurs in Luke 8:27-33. It recounts how Jesus delivered a man who had been possessed and tortured by a number of demons for a long time. This poor man was such a picture of human misery that he'd become a legend in his town.
But Jesus arrives and does the unthinkable. He casts out the demons and restores the man to his former self. The stage was set for something great in this town. Here's the man everyone had written off, set free and delivered by Jesus. If there was ever a reason to receive and believe in Christ, here it was…sitting, breathing, and staring right at them.
Sadly, things didn't go down that way. The town wasn't open to Jesus at all. Quite the opposite:
Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region…asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. Luke 8:37 (NKJV)
Notice Jesus' reaction to their rejection. It says when they asked Him to leave, He did. No arguing, no arm-twisting, no prolonged appeal to persuade them. When it was clear they didn't want any part of Him, Jesus didn't force Himself on them.
There's a fine line between being persistent and being pushy. Jesus was persistent, but not pushy. He knew where that line was drawn, and He knew when it was time to depart instead of stubbornly staying.
Of course, we are called to be light and salt in this world. We are to be witnesses to God's grace in all that we do and to pray unceasingly for the salvation of the unsaved. Yet we're also wise to learn from Jesus when it comes to His reaction to rejection. He didn't force Himself on people, and neither should we. May we be lovingly persistent without being pushy.
Think About It…
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?
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