Before the Bell Tolls

Mark 5:19
19Jesus did not let him but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

Jesus healed a man who was possessed by a legion of demons. The man had been considered uncontrollable and lived among the tombs. The man had been written off as unable to be helped. Oh but a word from Jesus changed it all! The man who was considered incurable was cured. He was so grateful that he wanted to go where Jesus was going. But instead, Jesus gave him another charge. The man was to go back to his family and tell of what the Lord had done for him. Now family can be those considered of blood lineage or those thought to be in close relation to. But in either case because the man was a Gentile he was urged to tell his story of healing. What has Jesus done for you and with whom have you shared it? If it was shared with strangers and passerbys, that's wonderful! But what about those that you consider to be blood related or ones you consider to be your family? Do they know what the Lord has done for you? Do you even know the spiritual state of those whom you consider to be your family? When the bell tolls for you and you have a face to face encounter with Jesus, will He ask you why you didn't share the good news with your family? We can easily take for granted or assume that everyone knows Jesus but there are people who sit on the pews Sunday after Sunday who still don't know Jesus. Jesus isn't real for them because they've never had an encounter. But sharing your own encounter with Jesus such as the one that the once demon possessed man had could easily bring an encounter to life. Do as Jesus commands before the bell tolls.