“This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.”

-From The Gospel of Mark (NIV)

He cut himself again. 

These are the things that we enjoy. Entertaining folly. The townspeople call him “Mad” because of us. But we feel that such a label is an underwhelming understatement. We deserve better. He stands there nude, baring flesh without shame. He walks amongst the tombs, speaking to the dead. The only thing that he hears are the voices in his head. Which is, technically, us. Screaming. Crying. Writhing. Laughing hysterically. Yes. That is us. Thank you! Thank you! Did we mention that he cut himself again? 

Look there upon the hill. More men come with chains. This is always our favorite game. What are they attempting? Are they trying to subdue him? To exorcize us? To save him from himself? From us? They try time and time again to no avail. Let us just give him a surge of adrenaline. Some strength beyond strength, if you will. And there they fall again. Link by link. Watch the villagers run in terror! They fear for their lives. This never gets old.

Look upon this man. He is a testament to our great work. Our masterpiece. Just like a group of bullies beating down the weak one. It isn’t enough that only one of Us should enter. For one came. Then another. Then another. We invited more to the party. Now we are a full house. But do not be mistaken. No friend. There is always room for more. Like cat and mouse we play. We toy. We love the abuse. Bloodied chest from the stones. Bruised wrists from the fetter’s failures. Hair missing from where We made him rip it out of his own skull. Scratches from his own claws. We could call Suicide and end this tonight. But why would we? We are enjoying ourselves. This is home now. 

“They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.”

-From The Gospel of Mark (NIV)

Look upon the sea. There are more men. Thirteen. Ah yes! We know these men. For our brethren have shared with us. Some have Fear. Some have Doubt. Many have Uncertainty. All of which strain Faith. That man there. Yes. He speaks before he thinks. He has visions of grandeur. That he will stand and never fall. That he will never run. Pride has captivated him. He is in the palm of Denial. One day They will dance upon his heart and drive him to shame his Lord thrice during The Darkest Hour. And that man there. Yes! To the left. He is our favorite. Greed resides in him as he taps into the money bag. One day he will become legend as Betrayal will have his way with him. The insulting kiss? Our finest work. Then there is that man…

That Man…

No.

It is not the time! Not now! It cannot be! We have so much more to accomplish with our host. We have not yet begun to scratch the surface of what we are capable of. We are stronger than any man. We have the power to control. To twist. To distort. We can be the Master of puppets. Yet this Man has dominion even over us. He is sovereign. Even the wind and waves obey Him. Death must bow to His will. We cannot run. We cannot hide. We cannot win. We simply cannot.

We beg of Him. Anything other than our demise. 

For we do not want to roam again like the restless vagabond. “Please!” we say. “Send us into the swine”. He bids our release. To separate us from the one and send us into the many. It is uncertain as to what happened next. Many say this. Many say that. Many agree to disagree. Did our presence startle them? Did the panic send them into their watery grave? Or did we want one last ride? One last opportunity to show the world how dangerous and deadly we are when we pull the strings? Nothing is immune. Not beast. Not man.

The tale is told. Legendary it has become. The man lives a normal life now. He walks and talks amongst the sane. He carries conversation. He asks. He answers. He laughs. He cries. He is reunited to his brethren. He is again one with them. As for us? We walk the dark corridors of life. We are still here. We are always here. Fear. Depression. Hopelessness. Suicide. Worry. Anger. Hate. Murder. Lust. Adultery. Confusion. Addiction. Alcoholism. Lies. Betrayal. Deception. Greed. Power. Control. Sickness. Sin. And the one that closes our chapters- Death. All of us. We enter you. We run through you. We control you. We break you. We finish you. 

And there is only One that we answer to. Do you know Him?

We are Legion. For we are many.

“Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.”

-From The Gospel of Luke (NKJV)