Walking Contradiction

Mark 5:6-8

      You’ve just concluded a long night of struggling with the sick children. Changing sheets,  PJs, washing bathroom floor, carpet, yourself, and being generous with the hugs and wet cloths to the forehead. And then the doorbell rings. At 8:00 on a Saturday morning the ambitious and pushing college age young man is standing at your door trying to sell you _______ (you fill in the blank.) Where was he at 2 in the morning when you really needed an extra pair of hands? This is not what you wanted to happen before you even had a chance to brew your coffee, let alone drink it.

      Life’s unexpected and often untimely stresses and strains can push even the best of us to the breaking point. Mine was eight months in Kuwait and Iraq on 2-3 hours of sleep a night. In some sense I am still trying to recover from that stress even 10 years later.

      Jesus and His disciples have had a rough night battling a storm, preceded by a day that just plain tuckered Jesus out. And they get out of the boat and the doorbell rings. The man demanding Jesus’ attention is out of his mind. He is possessed by demons and has been uncontrollable for some time. The people of his area have given up on him, and he has given up on himself.

      Notice that he sees Jesus from and distance and comes running. It is not the man in control, but the demons. Notice that they force the man to fall on his knees before Jesus, an obvious sign of submission. They know Jesus has the power, and they don’t. They know they are in danger. They are terrified. They force the man to scream at the top of his lungs.

      Notice what the demons say about Jesus. He is Son of the Most High God. This title, Most High God, was a title used by the Jews for the covenant making God of the Old Testament. It is the superlative form of address. You remember superlative, good, better, best. The demons recognize that Jesus is the Son of the highest God there is in the universe. And of course a Son is of the same kind as the Father, just like your kids are humans (most of the time!)

      And the demons know that Jesus had the power to judge them. They know that when the LORD’s judgment comes, it means torture to them. They probably learned this in demon preschool. They know judgment is coming and it won’t be pretty. They see Jesus and they think Judgment Day has arrived. Or at least their personal judgment day. And they are scared.

      And all this happens because Jesus is in charge. He begins to tell the demons to vacate the premises. And what is hilarious is that when they want Jesus to take an oath with God as the witness that He won’t judge them now. I think they must have been confused in that moment. They have had this man as their slave for some period of time. They aren’t used to having anyone challenge their right to torment him.

      Here Jesus is stretched to the max and another demand comes on Him. He is able in that moment to speak in His authority and not get flustered by the presence of this demon possessed man. I am sure we can deal with the diapers with dignity. Or the last minute deadline at work. Or the guy who just rear ended your car. The same power that was present with Jesus is present with you.

A Little Cuddle Goes a Long Way

Proverbs 14:26-27

      Serving the LORD provides stability for children. What a simple lesson, and yet so rare a quality. It provides the most fundamental needs of children, and adults for that matter. There are many areas where this is true, but here several on which to focus.

      Our first proverb states that children will find a refuge created by their parents who fear the LORD. One of the most basic jobs of parents is to provide protection and safety for their children. This protection provides them with a secure base from which to operate. When they have this secure base they can venture into their world and explore. They do this because they know mom and dad will be there if they need them.

      Children with a secure base are less anxious than children who don’t have this security. They are able to play by themselves without clinging. They don’t act up when something disrupts their world. They don’t need to. Their parents are there to comfort them and meet their most basic emotional needs.

      The same thing holds true for adult relationships. When one spouse reaches for the other in times of distress and there is a loving, caring response, anxiety lowers and positive hormones are released. When they don’t respond the internal alarm bells start ringing and the distressed spouse becomes even more distressed. They go into the fight-flight-freeze response. Stress hormones are pumped into the system creating chaos.

      Our relationship with the LORD can provide this kind of secure base. When someone draws in close to Him our anxiety can drop, and the release of stress hormones slows down. We need people to give the hugs and touches that mitigate so many anxiety produced problems, but that is where the Church comes in. We can be those arms extended.

      When stress gets lowered there are physical benefits. Our high-stress culture contributes to our obesity problems. So if we get the stress under control it will go a long way toward mitigating the negative health affects. It can literally save our lives.

      So give someone a hug today. Help lower their stress.