From Master to mission
"When Jesus got back into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too. But Jesus said, 'No, go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.' So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them" - Mark 5:18-20 (NLT)).
Sometimes God isn't logical -- at least from our standpoint. The man from whom Jesus cast the demons wanted to go with Jesus. This seems logical. After all, Jesus had done for this man what no one else could do -- he cast out thousands of demons from him. So he wanted to follow Jesus. This is a natural desire indeed.
However, Jesus said no. Why?
The answer is that Jesus wasn't satisfied with delivering just one man from Satan, he wanted to delivers others too. Gerasa and the surrounding cities were full of thousands who were hopelessly in the grip of demons or their deceptive religions and Jesus wanted them free. Sure, he could have told this man, "Come with me and you'll have a great life" but then no one else would have benefited from this man's salvation.
The man had to move from Master to mission.
It is not enough to sit at the Master's table endlessly eating of his bread. We must turn and share that bread with others. It is not enough to drink from the Master's cup; we must offer a drink to the parched souls around us.
This is ever God's mission. He wants us to know him, but he wants others to know him too. We are priceless to him, but so is everyone else.
So there comes a time when we must move from Master to mission -- the mission of bringing others to the Master; the mission of delivering others from darkness to light; the mission of engaging and defeating demons in Jesus' name so that others can know salvation too.
It is not enough to sit in church and endlessly be fed -- we must become the feeder. It is not enough to listen, we must also speak. It is not enough to receive, we must also give. It is not enough to follow, we must also lead. It is not enough to sit in the one place where we feel safe and comfortable and loved. We must leave safety, abandon comfort, and detach from those who love us to enter the dark world of those to whom God would send us.
We must move from Master to mission. God would have it no other way.
This may mean loneliness. No doubt, after Jesus and his disciples left Gerasa, this man felt very lonely. He was the only Christian in ten cities! He must have felt overwhelmed, and inadequate. He had no formal training as a missionary. He had never been to Bible College, nor had he spent more than a few minutes with Jesus.
But still God sent him.
A great truth emerges here. It takes no special training to share what God has done for us. Like the man, we only need a willing heart, and God will do the rest. One man or woman with a willing heart is an Army if God is with him or her!
The question is: are you willing to move from Master to mission? Will you obey the voice of your Master?
Will you help plant a church? Will you start or support a new ministry? Will you leave your comfortable job or retirement or climate to share your story? Will you stretch out of your comfort zone to speak to those God has put in your path about what he has done for you?
Will you move from Master to mission? When you do, people will be amazed, and you most of all.