Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

What does the Lord require of you?

Thursday, March 23, 2017

From Luke 11
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.

Margaret asked Jack, "Are dementors the same as demons?"

"No, of course not," Jack said. Margaret asked our son Chris, Jack's dad, "Are dementors the same as demons?"

"No, of course not," Chris said. "Dementors are made up."

Professor Lupin told Harry Potter, "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Muggles (humans) feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself ... soulless and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life." (from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Dementors are perfect prison guards, because they drain the prisoners of their will to escape.

Extra-biblical, yes. But accurate? Sounds like it to me. This is the stuff that demons are made of. And Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he faced them head on. The verbs are military and violent. Jesus drove them out. He cast them out. He rebuked them and would not let them speak. He took no prisoners. And those who were released from that awful prison camp of hell knew God's love again.

But as Greg Carey points out, Jesus did not really want those he released to follow him. He restored them to their relationships. Every life is made of mixed experience, and much of it can be seen as good. Jesus did not just empty the demoniac of his demon; he filled him with new life.

It is tempting to feel finished when I've worked through my own decay and despair. But as I leave the bad behind, what do I carry with me down the road? Jesus, wise as always in Matthew 12, warns me about what might happen next: "The spirit says, 'I will return to the house I left.' On its arrival, it finds the house vacant, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first!"

Oh Lord, that is not the way we want things to go. It looks like what you require of me, Lord, is twofold. First, that I let you empty me out, and second, that I let you fill me up. With Your Spirit. Once I was mute, but now I can speak. Open my mouth and give me the words, Jesus, to ask you to fill me new.

Devotions Archive

What does the Lord require of you?

Thursday, March 23, 2017