A Radical Transformation

Here in America, we have riots in our streets, and we’ve witnessed outright anarchy in some cities. Those serving in law enforcement have never had it more difficult than they have it right now. Meanwhile, the family continues to disintegrate and break apart, which by the way, is at the root of most of our social ills today.

Social media was supposed to bring us closer together. But I think that in many ways, social media has divided us and driven us apart. That’s because society and culture cannot cope with the problems caused by Satan and sin.

In Luke 8 we read of Jesus encountering a demon-possessed man. The Bible tells us this frightening, evil man with superhuman strength was hanging around in a graveyard, screaming and howling. If that weren’t enough, the man was naked. So everyone wrote him off. He was out of his mind. He was under the power of the Devil.

We see three forces at work in this story: Satan, society, and the Savior. What did the Devil do for this man? He brought chaos, destruction, and bondage. And what did society do for this man? Society had no answers for him, so they chained him up.

But what the chains could not do, Jesus did. Luke’s gospel tells us, “There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned” (Luke 8:32–22 NLT).

As a result, the man was so radically transformed that people couldn’t believe he was the same person (see Mark 5:15). What society cannot do, Jesus can.