In one of the first stories in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus casts a demon out of a man with just seven words: "Be silent and come out of him" (Mark 1:25). Now, seven is a biblical number symbolizing completion. You might say, then, that Jesus completely drove the demon away. However, I have a three-word sentence that also is potent against demons. Three is also a biblical number, and one that symbolizes the wholeness and relationship of God to Godself in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Those three words are, "I love you."
Of course, you may not want to use those three words with just anyone. They tend to work best with family members or people you really care about. Think of what would happen if in the middle of a brutal argument with your spouse, one of you were to stop for a moment and say those three words: "I love you." What would happen to the argument?
Or suppose your teenage daughter gets mad, because you won't let her use the car, and she runs to her room screaming, "I hate you!" And you holler back, "I love you!" What might that do to those demons running rampant inside her young body that even she doesn't completely understand?
What about others? Well, I suppose you have to be careful. When the class bully, standing six feet four and weighing 240 pounds, comes looking for you, you might not want to tell him you love him. On the other hand, those three words could just send him running for cover! Or to tell the principal. In which case you might have some explaining to do.
There are other situations, though, where showing a little love might not hurt. One woman actually told me that she didn't believe that God loved her. I called my wife to my side and rebuked the demon of doubt within that woman by turning to John 3:16 and by taking her to the baptismal font to renew God's promise of love and commitment to her.
On another occasion, a young woman told me that she was pregnant by a boyfriend who didn't want anything more to do with her or the baby. It's an all-too-common occurrance. We talked; she wept; we prayed. She wondered aloud how she could have messed up so badly. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, not as another "boyfriend" might, which would have been wrong, but as a parent would, or a fellow Christian traveling on life's bumpy road. Instead, as I prepared to leave, I asked if it would okay if I hugged her. Even that's not always the smartest thing to do these days, but I did it, anyway. She said yes; we hugged; she wept again, and I told her that God loved her, a safer and even more powerful sentence under the circumstances. One has to mean it, of course. It can't be something that you just throw out there. But neither can the other three words.
Last night I had a dream. I was talking to a local businessman who seemed at the time somehow possessed by an unscrupulous demon, when I was moved to utter those three little words: "I love you." Suddenly stuff started to ooze out of him. It was weird! It was a dream, of course.
If the situation doesn't allow you to actually tell someone you love him/her, simply doing something nice can work just as well. Paul suggested responding to your enemies by giving them food and something to drink if they happen to be hungry or thristy, thereby heaping hot coals upon their heads (Romans 12:20). Nothing says "I love you"--to a man, anyway--like a good, hot meal or a glass of cold water (or some other cold beverage) offered on a hot day. And there is probably little that could drive a demon so wild, as it tries to figure out why you're being so doggone kind!
Remember these things, then, the next time you are confronted by someone with a demon.
Blessings,
John
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