Ran out of town

I don’t think of this happening very often...Jesus getting ran out of town.

But there it is in Matthew chapter 8, last verse. I forget how sometimes people do not want to change and how difficult it is to bring change to others. I take for granted that everyone would welcome Jesus, even though as I have traveled internationally I know that this is not the case.

Resistance in the world to the gospel abounds in many places. Hate and violence directed toward Christ followers happens on a regular basses. We don’t often reflect upon persecution, we live in a free society with religious freedoms....how free are we?

Freedom comes in many ways. Free to live where we want, free to marry the person we love...free to vote. However, when I look at that list what I see are not freedoms but privileges.

We live in a land of privilege where we have come to expect certain things and often we take those for granted. What then is freedom? I want to suggest one aspect is the ability to choose. You see Jesus got into trouble because He made a choice. He chose to set free the man processed,

He chose to proclaim liberation through life change if any person would just ask. Choice will always cause a reaction, good or bad.

I choose to side with Jesus in life matters. My choice is to follow Him. Watch out, i might get ran out of town. SWEET!