The Power of Transformation

One of the key stories we look at during Foxholes here at Penn State is Mark 5:1-20. In the story Jesus encounters a man possessed by demons. This man had been alienated from his family, and culture. No one could help him. He broke chains that tried to subdue him, and cut himself with stones, crying out every day/night.

Then he meets Jesus. As powerful as this man was, Jesus was stronger. Jesus drives the demons out of the man, and his personality instantly changes. Now the man is calm, sober, and even dresses himself in new clothes. The people were amazed and terrified of Jesus at the same time. Amazed because Jesus made whole the unreachable. Terrified of the power Jesus wields to change lives.

And when the man begs to follow Jesus, He gives him a different assignment. Why didn’t Jesus accept this man as a disciple? Jesus instead sends him home to his family to share what God has done for him. The result? The people in his hometown were amazed at this life changing miracle.

Sure he could have impacted the world as one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. We might have even learned his name down that path. But instead Jesus sends him to be a witness for him in a city that Jesus likely never visited Himself.

As Christians we know we should be telling others about Jesus. But often we feel unprepared, inadequate. This man had only spent a single day with Jesus. But he recognized how Jesus had changed his life, and that alone transformed him into an effective witness for God.

We don’t have to know the Bible cover to cover, or have a seminary education to lead others to Christ. The power of our own story and how Jesus works in our lives is enough for God to use.

Don’t be afraid! Tell the world your story and what God has done for you. I have found that often the world will pay more attention to your story of transformation, than the life of one man changed thousands of years ago.

Who will you share your story with?