Not Just Make-Believe
Mark 7:24-30: "Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon as she heard about Him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at His feet. 26The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. '27First let the children eat all they want,' He told her, 'for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.' "28Yes, Lord,' she replied, 'but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.' 29Then he told her, 'For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.' 30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone."
A young American was trying to explain to a Kiwai woman in Papua, New Guinea, about the unseen forces of good and evil. When asked if she understood, she said, "Oh, yes, there were three [demons] in my house this morning. Here, I drew pictures of them." She handed the astonished American a paper with hideous half-human, half-animal beings sketched on it.
We don't have to convince most people in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific of the reality of the spirit world. They live with it on a daily basis, often seeing evil spirits with the naked eye. In Western countries, most people place demons in a fantasy category like Superman, Mickey Mouse, and the tooth fairy. This is a dangerous view because demons are not make-believe.
The demonic realm is just as substantial as the world we see. It existed before the material world and continues to exist today. But Jesus' death on the cross broke the power of the demonic realm nearly 2000 years ago, and in His name demons have to flee.*
Food for thought: How do your attitudes and actions show a belief in the demonic realm? What (if anything) would you change about those attitudes and actions?
Further Reading:
2 Corinthians 4:18: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 5:7: "We live by faith, not by sight."
Hebrews 2:14-15: "Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
1 John 3:8: "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."
*Sherman, Dean. Spiritual Warfare for Every Christian; How to Live in Victory and Retake the Land: YWAM Publishing, 1990.
