Micah looks around and concludes that he is alone. What he sees is like a vine stripped bare
after the harvest, the trees naked of their fruit, none left who care about
righteousness. It is like the days of
Noah, there is none godly remaining.
Their hands, which should be trained for godliness, are set to evil,
that they may do it well. To do evil
well requires a mind set on just that, working at it, practicing it, planning
it, not a spur of the moment decision.
The depth of the depravity is such that Micah moves in increasing
familiarity and intimacy to say you can't trust anyone, not a neighbor, a
friend, your wife or your children, don't turn your back on anyone. Have you read or watched the news lately?
Have you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome? It is when a captive so identifies with the
captor that they will even defend them from others. This man is suffering from that very thing.
He says his name is legion and Luke implies that it is the man talking and not
the demons. He even begs that they not
be thrown into the abyss. He has lived
with this torment for so long he no longer has an identity separate from the
demons. We may not be possessed by
demons but we can easily slide into the idea that we are identified in some way
apart from Christ. We can take our
identity from our jobs, our family role, wife, husband, father, son, etc, our
role in a local church whether pastor, treasurer, altar guild leader, etc., or
any other thing that could be taken away and ultimately in most cases will be
taken away as a primary identity. We are
to be deeply identified with Jesus in recognition that this is one identity
that will never be changed or taken away, it is eternal. Let us allow Him to reveal and take away all
else in order that we might cleave entirely to Him.
Paul is a man whose identity was changed by an encounter
with Jesus. He was a Pharisee, a man
zealous for the Law and for the truth but when he met Jesus he realized that
all that he held dear was wrong and that if he didn’t give up everything he
would end up with nothing. It was an
encounter that cost him dearly, but one which he would never have given
up. He speaks here of being sanctified
by faith in Jesus and that is a complete change of heart and mind because he
was previously sanctified by his actions or his works. His own encounter with Jesus was no less
earth-shattering than the Gerasene demoniac's encounter. For that reason Paul can write, " I have
been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me." Can you say
that? We should be able to, first we
have to want to.
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