Pushing God Away

…the whole town came out to meet Jesus; when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. Matthew 8:28-34  What a bizarre event! This scripture refers to “demoniacs”, coming out of the tombs to meet Jesus, knowing what could happen to them. No doubt they were cast out of town because of a disorder in behavior. Yet, Jesus heals them by casting out the behavior. The town then wants to cast out Jesus! It leaves me to question; what’s going on in this town? What might they be trying to hide? What are they afraid of? These same questions could be asked of what is happening in society today? Is not God stronger than the “demons” of the world? To be clear, I’m not talking about mental illness. I’m referring to the kind of conscious behavior we exhibit against one another. I’m referring to the kind of behaviors God is willing to purge from us, yet knowing God’s healing power and authority, we like the towns people find our selves pushing God away. Paul encourages us to strive to be partnered with Christ (1 Cor. 10:14-11:1). If we are going to draw closer to God we too must be willing to come out from the tombs in which we’ve been cast or the town in which we find “safe” familiarity and God will meet us spiritually and emotionally where ever we are.