Personal Transformation Leads to Community Transformation

If you've been journeying with us for any length of time, you know the primary objective of The Truth Project is transformation.  A deep, lasting renewing of the mind and heart that mirrors that of Isaiah's, when confronted with the Living God responded, "Here am I.  Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)  This personal transformation is the catalyst for community transformation.  Just as you are being metamorphed into the image of Christ, you cannot help but disciple others through that same process.  Life on life discipleship is the very praxis of our worldview.

We see this played out in Jesus' ministry.  In the Gospel of Mark, we learn that Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee and entered the area known as the Decapolis, or the 10 pagan cities of the Gentiles.  Mark tells us that as soon as Jesus got out of the boat, he was approached by a man possessed by a legion of demons.  Jesus healed the man of his posseession, sending the demons into a herd of pigs feeding on the hillside.  Those tending the pigs went out to see what had happened, and found Legion sitting on the ground, clothed and in his right mind.  At this point, Mark tells us they were afraid and begged Jesus to leave the area.

It appears Jesus complies with their request, not being one to go anywhere He was not welcomed, but as he was getting back into the boat, the man who had been possessed approached Jesus and begged to go with him. 

                "Jesus replied, Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you,     and how he has had mercy on you.  So the man went away and began to tell in the Decaplis how much Jesus had done for him" (Mark 5:19-20).

But the story doesn't end there.  Matthew then tells us that Jesus returned to the region of the Decapolis and...

             "Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.  The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing.  And they praised the God of Israel" (Matthew 15:30-31).   

Where did these "great crowds" come from?  Are not these the same people that begged Jesus to flee their region after seeing their little pigs drowned?  It appears that the transformed 'Legion' did exactly what Jesus commanded him to do.  He went back into his town, to his family and friends and proclaimed how much his life had been transformed by God.  Thus, upon Jesus' return to the region, a multitude was awaiting His arrival, bringing the poor, disenfranchised and hurting for Christ Himself to touch and to heal.

I love this story.  From one man came a multitude.  Our prayer is that God will use The Truth Project to transform your life, and that through you, multitudes will come to know and love this merciful God we so desperately long to serve.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Gary Alan Taylor