The Gadarenes, Luke 8:33-37

³³When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. ³⁴When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, ³⁵and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ³⁶Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. ³⁷Then all the people of the region of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So He got into the boat and left.

     This man whom Jesus had healed was literally infested with demons. When asked its name, the demon responded "Legion," for there were many demons in the man. A legion is three to six thousand! And with seemingly a simple nod of the head, Jesus casts them all out of the man, allowing them to be sent into a nearby herd of pigs.
     Why would Jesus allow the demons to go into a herd of pigs? Motives for allowing the demons to live are known only to God, but I believe that He allowed them to go into the pigs because pigs themselves were unkosher; the people of the area were breaking the Mosaic law by raising and tending these swine. The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss, which all demons will eventually be cast into at the end of time. However, I don't know that Jesus was necessarily being merciful to the demons by allowing them to go into the pigs as much as He was dealing with a greater sin issue in the people of the area by using the demons as His instruments to destroy the pigs.
     When the people of the Gadarenes saw their illegal profits being destroyed, when they saw the great power of Jesus in cleansing the possessed man, they were overcome with fear. This was probably fear at the sheer power of Jesus' word. They were powerless in comparison to Him, and He stood for a righteousness that would change their way of life entirely. And they did not want this. So they asked Him to leave, and He indeed left. They were not amazed at the awesome miracle that had been done in the man cleansed of thousands of demons-- only their own profits and finances. They had given up on the demon-possessed man, had cast him out and didn't care to have him back nearly as much as their own comfort and lifestyles.

     How many times in our own lives does something bad happen, like the man being possessed, and Jesus will come along and use it for His glory? As He used the demons that controlled that man for so many years to cleanse the people around Him, so too He can use mistakes that have been made to deal with sin issues in our lives and the lives of those around us. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Anything we do will be incorporated into God's plan for ultimate good in our lives. There isn't any mistake so horrible that God cannot use it for His glory.
     But may we not be guilty, like the people of the Gadarenes, of caring more about our own comfort than the spiritual well-being of a brother, a friend, or even an enemy. May our first reaction not be fear and selfishness, but amazement and wonder and giving praise to God for His wonderful acts of mercy and kindness in saving a fellow sinner.

     It is so easy in this world to lose track of the spiritual and become over-involved in the physical. It is easy to get caught up in how comfortable we are, and in how pleasant and convenient we can arrange our lives to be. But the reason God has put us on earth is not to be comfortable. We are here as servants of the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth. We are not here to do our own will, but His. Our lives should therefore reflect that attitude of servanthood.
     When something wonderful happens to our brother or sister, but it causes us some pain in that God is purging and cleansing that which is not His will for our lives, we ought not first think about our own pain and sorrow, but rejoice in the good that has been brought from it. We should praise God for His blessings and His miracles that He has bestowed upon our brothers and sisters, not pout because He, in the process, took something away from us. If He took something away from us, it was for our own good and we probably should never have had it in the first place.