OF SWINE AND DEMONS

As Jesus passed over into the country of the Gergesenes, the demon possessed men emerged from the tombs where they dwelt and cried out, "What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God?  Have you come here to torment us before the Time?"  While the wicked Jewish leaders gnashed their teeth, persecuting our Lord while rejecting Him as the promised Messiah, even the demons believe--and tremble.0For they know full well that their days are numbered--that when Christ returns in glory at the end of time, they shall be cast into the lake of fire.

Meanwhile they struggle with artful cunning and demonic zeal to lead as many as they can to destruction, for they hate the human race with a passionate hatred we can barely conceive of.  That which they did to the swine--driving them violently headlong down the slope to perish in the waters--they would happily do to us, had not God set a limit forbidding them to kill us directly.

So the demons are forced to use more subtle means, influencing our minds through lies and deceptions to freely choose for ourselves the path of destruction.  The truth is: the demons can have no power over us unless we freely give it to them.  And so, we are lying to ourselves if we say, "The Devil made me do it."  The demons can and do suggest many things, injecting their insidious thoughts into our minds--but they can never prevail against us unless we ourselves give our consent.

The problem is, we do give our consent, time and time again, following their wicked counsels and willfully embracing their vile deceit.  Like the Jews of old, we may indeed "have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge."  For being ignorant of God's righteousness, we seek to establish our own righteousness rather than submit to the righteousness of God. 

For if we were truly willing to set aside our own self-willed thoughts and desires, committing ourselves totally to the fulfillment of God's commandments, then His grace and love would surely protect us from every demonic assault.  But God will never violate our free will--forcing us to tread the way of salvation.  The choice is ultimately ours--either eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom, or an eternity in a hell of our own making.

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My two latest books--Conspiracy of the Ancients and Dystopian Tales--are now available from Amazon Books.  Just type in "Fr. Thomas Kulp."  I also wish to point our that I haven't been posting on my blog lately, because it seems that only one person is actually reading them.  I don't know who this one person is...but thanks!