We tack silly cartoons to our office wall. Here’s a recent one we enjoyed: 

Poor pig. 

The cartoon is referring to the episode in Mark 5:1-20 in which Jesus visited the land of the Gerasenes and met a man who was demon possessed. Long story short, Jesus cast out the demons who then entered a herd of about two thousand pigs and drove them into the sea where they drowned. 

The Gerasenes were not pleased. 

Think about it from their perspective: they just lost hundreds of thousands of dollars of livestock. And for what?  

Yes, they were amazed that the man was finally healed, but Jesus threatened their livelihood, so they asked Him to leave (v 17). Jesus thought the trade-off—one restored human life for a herd of pigs—was worth it. The Gerasenes…not so much. 

There are many lessons to learn from that passage, but the question that comes to my mind is: What is a human life worth to God? 

Jesus once said, “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matt 6:26). 

Yes, you are. You’re valuable to God. More valuable than the birds and even more than a herd of pigs!