Mark 5:1-5
“They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones.”
“So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.”
This is what is left when our personality entirely breaks apart, terrifying and unexplainable. All of us would look like this if the brokenness of sin entirely had its way. Satan’s destructive intent would be completely fulfilled. Jesus arrived, Satan was vanquished, and light and life dawned. Christ redeemed this Gerasene and the Devil’s purpose was aborted. No one, regardless how much Satan has perverted their being, is beyond his reach. He can make all of us into his children, growing us with his love, protecting us by his Spirit.
Lord, thank you for giving me a glimpse, now and then, of the utter depravity of my inherited sinfulness. It is frightening. Thank you for rescuing me, restoring me, and making me the object of your amazing love.