Tag: Herd of Pigs

Compassion, Living in the Image of God

Christ Teaches Appreciation—Man Freed from Demons

Living in the Image of God M02S12

Through interactions with a man freed from demons, Christ conveys a message that a recipient of favor is called to testify publicly to share appreciation with others. The man showed appreciation by requesting to follow Jesus physically. However, Jesus sent him home instead, with instruction to testify among his people regarding what God had done for him. Public testimony conveys appreciation to the benefactor and shares positive message to others regarding favor and appreciation, thus inspiring them to do more likewise and initiating the long-term benefits of human service.

Christ Teaches Appreciation—Man Freed from Demons 7:14

We discuss Christ interactions with a man freed from demons (Mark 5:1–20) to understand that public testimony regarding appreciation is important to God. He wants a recipient of favor to testify publicly to share his or her appreciation with others. The man freed from demons regained control of himself and wanted to follow Jesus physically. However, Jesus sent him home instead, with instruction to testify among his people regarding what God had done for him.

Testifying among his people was an opportunity to share the message of what God had done for him and present himself as an example of God’s favor provided to a human being through his son Jesus. As we discuss previously in Understanding Appreciation, a favor by another human person is a favor from God because he positions and empowers others to represent him in human interactions: whereby every person could function as the channel for God’s favor to another. Therefore, lessons learned from Christ interactions with a recipient of direct favor from God provide a basis for understanding God’s expectations of recipients of human favor.

Furthermore, as we discuss in Understanding Appreciation, a public testimony regarding appreciation conveys gratitude to the benefactor and shares positive message to others regarding a benefit received, the human provider of the benefit, and an understanding that God positioned and empowered the benefactor to perform the favor. Such a message inspires the benefactor and others to do more likewise, thus initiating and propagating the long-term benefits of human service. Therefore, testimony regarding appreciation is important to God as a key aspect of his purpose for human interactions and relationships.

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The Gospel

Value of Testimony

Sharing Appreciation of God:
Christ’s Teaching on Testimony

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We begin a two-part series on appreciation with a discussion of Christ’s teaching on testimony, i.e., sharing appreciation of God. Our understanding is based on his interactions with people he healed: what he instructed them to do or how he received their reaction to the healing. We examine his interactions with a man he freed from demons and a woman he healed of long-term bleeding. We see that he directed both healing recipients to testify about what God had done for them. He gave a direct instruction to the man freed from demons. However, his instruction to the woman healed of long-term bleeding was indirect: he would not stop looking for her until she came forward and testified. We also recall an example on testimony based on Peter’s interactions with his faith family after God released him miraculously from Herod’s prison.

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INSPIRE OTHERS TO SEEK GOD A testimony inspires others to seek God by sharing with them personal experience that illustrates appreciation for his mercy and power and effectiveness in granting prayers and fulfilling promises. In addition to inspiring others by testifying to one’s personal experience of God, giving testimony also is a way to show appreciation to other people that have shared a person’s concern, either through physical contributions or by helping channel the concern’s to God through prayer. It is important to let such people know that God has granted their prayers and inform them so they would direct subsequent prayers according to need.

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