Have you ever been having such a great time somewhere, or with someone, that you never wanted to leave? That’s how the man in Mark chapter 5 felt after Jesus healed him from a life of torment. He wanted to travel with Jesus, listen to His teachings, witness His miracles, and enjoy His company. But Jesus told him to go home and tell His family what God had done for him. God doesn’t want us to live separate from the rest of the world or keep things to ourselves. After we’ve received a blessing or miracle from God, we need to take what we’ve received and share it with others. The man in Mark 5 had spent years living in a graveyard. He had been ‘crying out and cutting himself with stones’ (v.5 NKJV). Now the crowd saw him ‘sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind’ (Luke 8:35 NKJV). And that’s how it works for us when we cry out to Him for help. First Jesus clothes us in His righteousness, then He calls us. Paul wrote, ‘Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT). ‘Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life’ (1 Corinthians 15:22 NLT). And when we’ve received our new life, we need to tell others about God’s goodness, so they can also make the choice to cry out to God and receive salvation and new life.

What Now?

Write down your own story of how you became a Christian. (If you’ve not made that decision yet, think about what makes you interested in God.) Try to tell at least one person your story. (We love hearing your stories too – head over to ucb.co.uk/shareyourstory if you’d like to share it with us.)