Believing you’re loved
is easy if you’re the demoniac in the story.
Jesus meets you living naked among the tombs,
a danger to yourself and others,
and then restores you in mind, body and spirit,
clothes you,
and returns you to your loved ones.
A story book ending.

But what about the poor guy
that owned the large herd of swine
that rushed into the lake and drowned
because of what Jesus did?
It would be hard for the farmer to believe the Son of God loved him.
In fact, the townspeople asked Jesus to leave.
They didn’t want that kind of love.

I don’t like the idea that God’s love allows you
to lose your possessions and livelihood in an instant.
I really don’t like what happened to the animals.
That doesn’t sound loving to me.

When I listen to the stories of people who lost everything,
I hear it was a terrible end.
But to many of them, it was also 
a wonderful beginning.

Still, I don’t want it to happen to me.

And just like that 
demon fear slips in
and seeds the belief 
that God can be indifferent to my suffering–
see now, isn’t this story proof?
And when that seed 
is fully grown,
we find ourselves
naked among the tombs.

 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God,
and God abides in them.
–1 John 4:16 (NIV, adapted)

Credits and References:
“Jesus casting out the demons” image 22.4.2010: Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna by Nick Thompson. Used with permission.
Naked Among the Tombs by Esther Hizsa, 2024
“Stillness” by christian.rudman. Used with permission.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2024.
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2024.  http://www.estherhizsa.com