Mark 5:18-19
And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

We all have tales to tell.  We all have unique experiences and have been delivered in different ways.  We’ve encountered God under different circumstances.  The details may be different, but certainly God has done great things for each of us, and surely He has shown us great compassion.  We were all lost in sin before Jesus saved us, and so among our friends, the difference will be noticeable, and we can tell them just who made such a difference.  Those who know us best and perhaps have seen us at our worst will appreciate the change in us and hopefully desire to experience the touch of Jesus on their lives, as well.

This man whose life was changed so drastically wanted to follow Jesus back across the sea.  But Jesus commissions him as His testimony among these people to proclaim Jesus here in this place.  We don’t have to travel far to share our story of how the Lord has changed our lives so completely.  We don’t have to follow Jesus for many years before we can tell others about Him.  We don’t need to learn everything about being a Christian before we can witness to others, but we can simply share our testimony with people we already know.

These stories are an effective tool because really they are not even about us at all.  We don’t have to worry about sharing things that are too personal with others, because we don’t have to share what we’ve done, but what God has done.  We don’t have to reveal the horrible mistakes we’ve made or the evil that dwelt within us, but we can tell others about the power in Jesus Christ to deliver us so completely from what had once held us captive.  It’s not about what we’ve gone through, but what He did in us and for us.

And just maybe God has placed us where we are on purpose, sent us back home with a message of hope that only we could bring to those around us.  Maybe our testimony is just the one that someone needs to hear for the Spirit of God to finally break through a hardness in their heart.  Maybe our unique experience resonates with someone else in a way that nothing else ever had and finally the love of Christ could pierce through their darkness.  So let’s not be shy or too afraid or unwilling to tell others about all the amazing things that God has done for us.  His commission to all of us is to go and tell.