Mark 5:1-20
I’d like to begin by asking what you felt after reading Mark 5:1-20. Was it discomfort? Fear? Confusion? A need for someone to explain what it all means? Maybe it was excitement and awe over what God is capable of?
If I could hazard a guess, I think many people feel uncomfortable after reading this passage. But why is that?
Discomfort over this passage can probably stem from a variety of different things, but I wonder if it mainly stems from fear.
Did any of you think, “What if that were me?!”
I think some of us might venture this question because we inherently know that we have strongholds in our lives. And I think we also implicitly know that to address that bondage will come at a cost; a cost to our reputation, our image, to the way people see us. To the lifestyles we’ve built. Instead of focusing on how we can try to keep people from thinking we have strongholds in our lives, or beating ourselves up for not addressing the bondage and pretending like it’s not there, or by downplaying it, what if we explored our fear? Investigated it? Remember, we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
First of all, what if we asked ourselves, “What exactly am I afraid of?” And from there, “Why am I afraid of ____________________?”
If you’re afraid of how people will see you if you “addressed the change” and if they “found out,” perhaps consider the following: “What would make it possible for me to share (perhaps even address) this bondage in my life?” Is it knowing there are safe people you can talk to? A community that will embrace you? Being confident that someone will stand by your side when they see who you really are?
Knowing that Jesus loves us in our sin (and that he can deliver us from it) is essential for growth, but knowing that tangible human beings around us will love us in the midst of it is also crucial. Our fellow Christians are His Body, after all, and what can be more comforting than the embrace of our Savior?
Rather than trying to cover for your strongholds, what can you do to make strides to find (or build) a community that you feel safe to change alongside, free of condemnation?
Ashley Carr
Writing Team