Amongst the Tombs
All through the Scriptures God is giving us an opportunity to know Him…to know His heart. Our community has recently been working through the book of Mark, and we are continually reminded of God’s character as we get to know Him through the living testimony of Jesus, His Son.
In Mark 5, there is a story of Jesus traveling to a different region where a Gentile man is suffering internal torment by a demonic presence so terrible that he cannot be in the presence of others. This man is left to roam amongst tombs and cry out day and night. Nothing can contain him…not even chains. When Jesus arrives, the demonic presence immediately recognizes who Jesus is and the authority he has, and they are terrified. Jesus, the Holy One, is there, and he is there for the broken, tormented man. A lot can be pulled out of this story of encounter with Jesus. I find it most aw-striking, however, that Jesus does not only heal and deliver, but that he goes out of his way to show mercy. Oh, how this man needed to experience the mercy of God, and God himself, in the person of Jesus. He comes for this helpless, harassed, and lost man, and this man is forever changed. He is set free! Hallelujah to the God who would travel in a boat to find a tormented man amongst tombs. Hallelujah to the same God who laid upon the cross for the sins of humanity. What mercy, what grace, what lavished love is given to us through Christ!
Sometimes in our day to day, I am aware that those amongst us are struggling with addiction and mental health challenges and feel the deep aloneness and internal suffering much like the man in the tombs. A sense of being “lost” and “beyond hope or change.” As I contemplate Jesus, Our Healer, I am aware that He is very much with us in our “amongst the tombs” experiences, as He is present in any other type of suffering. Jesus went to the man. In our ministry, we get to be with the hurting and the lost. I don’t always know exactly what Jesus is doing. I get glimpses here and there of His redemptive work, and I know that I am called to stay alert to His voice so that I might participate fully in all that He wants to accomplish. Jesus knows His plans for each of His creations, He knows how to speak to them, to draw them, to transform them.
Please pray with us as we teach from His word and tell His story, make His name known, act as His hands and feet, and share cups of cold water. Pray with us as we ourselves continue to learn from the One who knows our hearts, and His plans for our futures. Pray we are faithful with this calling to love, serve, and proclaim. Rejoice with us for His amazing grace and mercy that has been poured out so that we can celebrate that not only does he go to those amongst tombs but that He Himself rose from THE TOMB and lives!
– Natalie Manke (Crisis Outreach Coordinator)