Who is this man?

This morning's passage in church came from Luke 8.  We actually had a service based around the Parable of the Sower this morning, and it was too good to not share some quotes with you, so here's your dose of Pastor Yoon for today:

"If you're busy and are going through a hard time, you need to pray more... This is how we come out of the thorns... We all have a lot of drama in our lives these days. This kind of drama will become poison." 

‎"We need to wash away the poison in our bodies and in our souls. If we do not, they will become bad things in us... Prayer is the only way to soothe our trauma and poison." 

‎"Satan does not like for believers to pray. The most strong [demon] is the one who stands [outside] the prayer room."

It was like John Wesley came to him in a dream and said, "Pastor Yoon, I want you to talk to the people."  It was definitely hard-hitting, and something I need to do more.


BUT, that's not all.  You see, I decided I wanted to read on past verse 8, and I eventually came to the passage where Jesus meets Legion.  I was astounded by two old truths, that I've known, but it was as if I was reading them for the first time today.

Luke 8:30-37 NIV

The first this that I immediately thought was that Hell must be a horrible place, if even the demons don't want to be there.  I think it's easy for us to downplay Hell.  A lot of us have it rough on Earth, and we think, "It can't get worse than this."  I mean, I have a measuring rod.  I assess each bad situation this way: "Is this worse than that one time?  No.  Then this isn't so bad."  In my head, there is nothing worse than that semester a couple years back when we lost Kyle.  But there were demons there -willingly there.  According to this passage, therefore, Hell must be worse than that, unfathomable as it may be.

The second thought that ran through my head is as follows, verbatim: Who is this man that he even has mercy on demons?  Honestly, what is this?  Moreover, what does this say about us and our actions?  We, who can't even find it in ourselves to be nice on a bad day to the people we love most, are supposed to be modeling ourselves after a man who shows mercy on demons.

Oh G-d, "You are so high among the highest, and I am low among the lowest, a mean thing.  You never go away from us.  Yet we have difficulty in returning to You." (Augustine)

He who has ear, let him hear.