And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Mark 5:15
I was watching a flood of people entering and flowing along Front Street in Toronto late one Friday afternoon near Union Station. Everybody was hurrying home after a week’s work, rushing to catch buses or trains, and the moving mass of humanity was impressive in its size, complexity, and speed. As I watched all those tens of thousands of hurrying people, the question popped into my mind, how many of these folks are Christians? How many of them have had that life-altering moment that changed them into something radically different from what they used to be? I couldn’t tell from watching those people flow past me which ones were saved. But if we are around anybody for any length of time, we will discover quickly whether they are born again. They will be seated, clothed, and in their right mind.
Some changes are very obvious, such as the man in our text today. He had been a naked, demented dervish under the influence of demons. To see him seated, clothed, and acting rationally was a shock. For some of us who were born and raised in Christian homes, our conversion did not cause such a dramatic change in our outward appearance. But everyone who is saved has been seated, clothed, and given a sane mind.
A person who is seated has been given a position, whether it is a politician who has a seat in Parliament or a daughter who has a seat at the family table. You and I have a seat at the Father’s table, and unlike a crooked politician or a wayward daughter, we can never be impeached or disowned. We are forever within the Father’s favour, shelter, and blessing. That our Lord has seated us in His presence is a precious and joyful truth.
We may not always look like it, but you and I are already wearing the Father’s wedding garment. When God looks down on the children of men, He sees and knows those who are His because of the One Who dwells within us. We are clothed with the Holy Spirit, Who has sealed us forever with His presence, His comfort, His encouragement, His protection, and His promises. We could not be better clothed.
Were we not sane before we were saved? We have to admit, now that we have trusted Christ, that we were certainly very foolish not to have trusted Him before we did. Think of those around us who mock our Lord and curse His name; is this not the height of folly? To be saved is to have our thinking radically changed and aligned with God’s mind and purposes.
Regardless how far our salvation has brought us, we ought to rejoice today at our Lord’s provision of a position, a garment, and a mind to love Him. -Jim MacIntosh