July 31
Legacy Footprints
The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. ––Mark 5:14-15, NLT
When you think about people in the Bible who left a big legacy, one that doesn’t readily jump to mind is the demoniac of Gadara. As a refresher, he’s the guy who lived one the outskirts of one of the ten cities—the Decapolis—that were strung along the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River during Jesus’ time. This guy was in bad shape: full of a legion of demons; living outside in a cemetery; self-harming and given up for good by his family. In dramatic fashion, Jesus casts the demons out of the man, and then sends them into a herd of 2,000 swine that careen down the hillside and drown in the sea.
What you don’t hear a lot about, however, is the spiritual ripple effect this event had on history. The first thing of note is that Gadara was a Greco-Roman city and not Jewish—otherwise, why would there be a herd of pigs grazing in nearby hills? So just as with the woman at the well, who was also not Jewish, Jesus makes a statement when He travels to a Gentile region, finds the most demon-possessed guy around, and performs a powerful exorcism. Remember what Jesus said next:
“… Go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them. ––Mark 5:19-20
Hundreds of years later, the Decapolis region had transitioned from being a predominantly pagan, Greco-Roman cultural hub into a heavily Christianized area during the Byzantine period. It’s amazing to note that it all started with a boat trip across the Galilee into a pagan place that the Jews considered unclean. That’s where Jesus went, and that’s where seeds of faith were planted, took root, and sprouted, leading to the salvation of untold numbers of people.
Man of God, in one way or another, we are all as desperate as the demonized man who was miraculously transformed by the touch of Jesus. But when we hear the word “legacy,” it can sound a little intimidating. I mean, Winston Churchill left a legacy, as did Martin Luther King, Jr., and people like Billy Graham and Mother Teresa. But here’s the truth: we ALL leave a legacy—we all make an impact on the world, for better or worse.
How big of “legacy footprints” we leave behind in the drying mud of time is up to us, and completely correlates with how deeply we allow Jesus to touch and transform us. It starts with obedience—being hungry for the things that Jesus cares about. From there, it’s about staying close to Him so we can hear His voice.
Father, I surrender my legacy to You—work through me to accomplish the goals that You want to achieve in my life. Your will, not mine, be done.