Living in the Spirit
Scripture Reading: Mark 9:38-50
John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. –Mark 9:38-41
How do we discern Christ-followers in our world today when stances and actions are being taken in the name of Christ that are totally foreign to me and I am sure my stances and actions seem foreign to others? Perhaps the better question is do we have a role in discerning who is a Christ follower?
The Parable of the Sower* offers insight. I think we usually read this parable with our focus on what happens to the one who receives the seed but what does it say to the ones who sow the seeds? To sow seeds among the brambles of life that are choking the spiritual life from people we must serve among the brambles, rocks, and thorn while digging our roots deeper into the richness of the love of God that enables us to enable others.
Jesus states in the scripture above that we are not to judge the credibility of others who share his message that is his job and he deals with all who call on his name including us. I think we have a two-fold mission one to work continuously to strengthen our relationships with God and to work with all our might to attain the oneness to which Jesus calls all his followers. In many instances that may mean setting aside the sticky-wicket issues about which we see no avenues to oneness while actively seeking and building on those paths of love on which we all can travel.
Prayer: Lord, help us find common ground on which we can share your love in your name so that our actions as your followers do not drive others away from your life-giving nurture into wastelands of the world. Amen.
*Matthew 13