Wanna Get Away?
Southwest Airlines used to have TV commercials that would feature someone getting themselves into an embarrassing situation and then ask, “Wanna get away?” Then they would advertise their low fares for anyone needing to get away quickly from wherever they were.
In Mark 5:1-20, Jesus meets a demoniac in a very embarrassing situation. He is running around a cemetery naked, cutting himself. He has all the signs of an unconverted heart, ranging from being dangerous to himself and others to sensing no need to wear clothes, which leads to sensing no need for a Savior. See Genesis 3:7 and Genesis 3:21.
After he meets Jesus, everything changes. He is tamed by the Holy Spirit and Word of God. He is clothed. Now that he is in his right mind, I imagine he was horrified by the thought that people saw him running around a cemetery naked, cutting himself. He now realizes that healing does not come from cutting ourselves, but from Jesus being cut for us. See Isaiah 53:5. Now that he is converted, instead of finding it torture to be in the presence of Jesus, he wants to be with Him. I imagine also that he wanted to go with Jesus to get away from all the people who saw him running around naked in the cemetery. If Southwest Airlines had been around then, I imagine he would have wanted to take advantage of those low fares and hop on board to get away to the other side of the world, where no one saw him making a fool of himself.
However, instead of allowing him to go with Him, Jesus sends him back home to the people who saw him running around the cemetery naked. He tells him to tell them what wonderful things God has done for him. It is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4), and Jesus knew when people saw the goodness of God working in this man’s life that they, too, would be brought to repentance and salvation.
Sometimes Jesus sends us to the other side of the world to share Him, and sometimes Jesus sends us back home to be missionaries. In this case, he sent the man back home to be a missionary, even if it meant witnessing to people who saw him in a very embarrassing situation. Yet he had a wonderful story to tell about how God’s goodness had changed his life. He no longer had anything to be ashamed of. Paul likewise had plenty to be embarrassed about, but this was his attitude,
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 NLT
Jesus may send you to the other side of the planet to share Him, or He may send you back home to the people who saw you in embarrassing situations. So long as the goodness of God has truly changed your life, you no longer need to be afraid. You don’t need to hop on a Southwest Airlines flight to quickly get away. You, too, can confidently declare the goodness of God in your life, which will also lead others to repentance and salvation.
