Scenes From the Scriptures... From My Perspective

I was encouraged to read the scriptures every day from the time I was able to read. If I am being honest, I would admit that I didn't always listen. I would read really well for a couple of weeks and would "get too busy" and stop for a couple of weeks. This went on for years. Even now, I will go a couple of days without reading and studying like I should. If you were to ask me why, I'd have to tell you that I just didn't make time. I know, it's lame. Beyond lame, in fact.

I know that we are supposed to read and study the scriptures to learn how we can reach our potential as children of God. It's been said that, "when we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures;" That only says that I am not always listening as much as I am talking. Bad move for someone who wants and needs direction and instruction every day. (Okay, now that you remember that I am imperfect and have a lot of work to do, we can move on.)

The best part about reading scriptures is that you learn something new every time you open the pages. Life experiences and education help us to understand things differently. We can read and reread the scriptures, and somehow, it is like we are reading them for the first time. That means that as I mature spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, the lessons I learn from the scriptures will always meet my needs. I will never outgrow them.

Lately, I've been reading the New Testament. This time through, I've been thinking about the people in a different way. I'm going to tell you about one man that caught my attention. He's mentioned in both Mark and Luke. When I read about him years ago, all I could tell you was that he was healed. There's so much more to his story.

This is what we know about him from Mark 5.
*He lived among the tombs
*He had an unclean spirit
*He couldn't be bound with anything, even chains - he would break them into pieces
*He couldn't be tamed
*He was in the mountains and tombs every day and night
*He would cry and cut himself with rocks

From Luke 8, we also learn that
*He had devils a long time
*He isn't wearing clothes
*He was driven into the wilderness by the devil

They called this man Legion because of the many spirits that entered into him. It doesn't tell about his story before Jesus heals him. (What happened that caused him to be inhabited by unclean spirits, who is family and friends are, how long it had been since he'd seen his family, etc.) His story breaks my heart. Imagine his days and nights. He has been consumed by unclean spirits that have driven him to the wilderness. He is alone, naked, and not in his right mind. He cries and hurts himself physically. People are trying to bind him with chains and tame him.

After the Savior heals him, this man asks if he can remain with the Savior. (Note: His first thought isn't that he gets another chance at life or that he gets to see his family and friends again. He wants to follow the Savior. I understand that part of this could be worry or fear, we don't know what happened when Legion left to live among the tombs. We don't know how his family and friends will react or treat him. He knows he is safe with the Savior though.)

The Savior knew better (of course), and sent him home. He was instructed to tell his friends and family the great things the Lord did for him - for the compassion shown to him. All we know is that he did what he was told: he told people his story. Those people heard his story and waited for the Savior to  return to their city so they could be healed by Him. That is all we know about this man. He's not mentioned again. We don't get to know how his story ends.

Ok, now to apply this to our day. I don't live among tombs. I have clothes. People aren't trying to "tame" me or chain me up. I don't have an unclean spirit. I am in my right mind. I don't cry (unnecessarily) or cut myself. So how can this teach me anything? Well, I am going to start by being more grateful for my blessings. After realizing that all of my blessings come from a loving Heavenly Father, I need to remember to thank Him... all of the time. I need to act in a way that shows I'm grateful. I need to be as willing as this man was to follow the Savior. He should be my first priority. I need to be better at not judging people based on their outward appearance. This man had it pretty rough and was left alone when he needed someone the most. I don't want to have to come up with a reason for leaving someone when they needed me most. This story is a great reminder that nothing is too much for the Savior. He can and will help, as we ask.

This has been a reminder to me that these are real people we read about in the scriptures. They aren't just fictional anecdotes written to make us feel good or encourage us to be better. This man really went through the things we read about. He was healed by the Savior. Even though we may not have the same tests or trials as this man, we can have the same results. The Savior can and will heal us.