We Are All Beggars

We Are All Beggars

(Readings from the "Through-the-Bible Reading Plan"  Oct 30th)

Job 21, Mark 5 & 6

What's been hitting me today is there are so many things that are out of my control.  For a high "D" personality and a high "I" (meaning I'm a control freak that likes to influence people) this is very difficult to swallow.  Even today my middle daughter is in the ER because of stomach pains she has been having and I cannot control this situation.  I have been praying for God to heal her and His ultimate will to happen, I have asked several prayer warriors to join me in this prayer but ultimately I am just a beggar before God.

Reading today more of Job's story-line is a reminder that the unjust prosper and the follower's of Yahweh don't always have it easy.  We are just beggars of God's mercy and we pray for strength and understanding that can only come from Him when we are in the middle of some junk that we don't understand.  We turn to friends around us that try to explain it but they are all whacked out and we really need to just fall on our knees and beg the Father to help us and look to Him when we have needs.  This is not easy for a control freak or someone with influence.  Because we cannot look to ourself but must turn away and look to Jesus.

Then when you get to Mark 5 & 6 it wrecked me again with affirmation that all we can do is fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews again...see yesterday's post).  Jesus is showing the disciples His deity and power, that He is fully God yet fully man.  5000 people just had a party of fish and bread, Jesus walks on water and calms a storm for the second time!!!  Are the disciples so dense that they cannot see who this is in front of them can they not just look to Him?  Then there's the demon possessed man, he has a legion inside of him this is many demons reflected also in Luke 8:30.  The demons beg Jesus not to cast them back into the "abyss" (Luke 8:31, Mark 5:10) they don't want to be cast back to hell but into the pigs near by.  We don't completely understand where demons go we only know what is shown to us that they were "beggars" before Jesus and ask for His mercy.  (side note we don't worry about demons attacking us or possession of believers because they cannot enter where Jesus lives!  When we believe in Jesus and His death and resurrection we proclaim the truth that hell has been defeated along with sin, death, and all the power of the devil and his demons, so we do not live in fear as we have been covered by the blood of Jesus and the enemy has NO POWER OVER US!) 

The herdsman of the pigs watch this all go down and they tell the people in the village so they all come out to see what happened.  Then they become "beggars" of Jesus, except they beg Him to leave!  They see the man sitting at the feet of Jesus, he has moved from a demon possessed man to a disciple at the Masters feet.  They see the drowned pigs--this for the herdsman is an economic tragedy.  They don't understand and cannot comprehend so they "beg" Jesus to leave because they were "afraid" (Luke 8:35).  All the people from the surrounding country beg Jesus to leave.  So what does Jesus do?  He gets back into the boat, and they prepare to leave back to Galilee.   Then as they are leaving the man healed "begs" (Mark 5:18) Jesus to let him go with them!  But Jesus refuses, at first glance have a hard time understanding until we hear the words of Jesus, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." (vs. 19)  That's exactly what the man does, goes the the Decapolis (10 cities east of the Jordon river with large Gentile populations) and throughout the whole city proclaiming how much Jesus had done for him! (Luke 8:39)  

So I wonder if we are all just beggars?  Have you been begging?  I have, but not to the extent that I see in scripture.  I think it's easy for us to beg when we want.  We beg when we need something or think we do, similar to a child that wants a piece of candy they think they need but as a good parent with caution we abstain.  To truly be a beggar do we learn from the demons?  From people who don't understand Jesus or what He has done so they beg Him to leave their presence?  Which by the way Jesus obliges.  Or are we begging like the man healed of demon possession.  Who has no control of his ailment, probably has no recollection that he is even sick, no way of healing himself, he has no influence, but Jesus enters into his life, Jesus is the one who shows up for him landing on his turf in his cemetery and heals him.  As a result of unwarranted grace the healed man becomes a beggar at the feet of Jesus.  Jesus puts him back together, the man is clothed looking decent again up at the face of the Master.  Looking up to Him now and wanting to follow Him where ever He is going.  We have no knowledge that the man even knows where Jesus is going-he doesn't care!  He only wants to be in the presence of Jesus, follow his Healer--follow his Savior.  So if you're like me you're reading the storyline and saying great, luck number 13, new disciple that follows Jesus.  Jesus is going to say "Climb in the boat mate!"--right?!?!  NO, to that Jesus tells him to stay.  Stay.  Stay and go.  Go and tell the story about Me--Jesus says.  Return home, tell your family, tell your friends tell anyone who will listen how much the Lord has done...how much mercy He has given to you!  That's what good beggars do, they tell what they know.  How they have nothing and are in desperate need of help.  They tell anyone who will listen.  This once demon possessed man, this beggar, goes and does just as Jesus asked him, and he goes out into the cities--the Decapolis.  Ten cities in his region where they are filled with unbelievers-Gentiles.  This beggar tells them about Jesus his Savior and how He had mercy and grace and how He can heal them too! 

I am praying for God to make me a beggar.  That I truly see the state I am in. My daughter does not belong to me, she belongs to the Father and He will care for her.  I need to trust in Him and wait.  To make me as I continue to die to the things I think I control begin to look only at Jesus and beg for Him to take over my life and teach me how to really live.  Realizing that I really have no control, no influence, nothing of my own but I am only a beggar.  As a beggar my prayer is that I only look to my Lord, to Jesus my Savior, and cling wholly to Him telling of what He has done for me.