Mark 9:38-40 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.”
In another part of the New Testament Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). Seems like a contradiction at first glance, but not really. The Matthew verse indicates that you are either part of the work God is doing in Jesus, or you are part of the resistance, actively or passively, to it- the “if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem” mentality. The Mark passage above indicates that you can be part of what God is doing in Jesus without going about it only one particular way or being part of one particular group. The teaching in both passages is to be part of what God is doing in Jesus. Jesus constantly called individuals to decide where their ultimate loyalties lay. But when they chose to follow him they found freedom in doing this, discovered their true selves, and went places they never dreamed. Following Jesus isn’t about dressing a certain way or looking like a particular group or using catch phrases. It’s about putting all you are and all you have into the hands of God to be used in his service. That might take different forms for different people but that’s OK. The question is, “who is it all for?” So… looking at your life, “who is it all for?”
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 