September 26, 2021: Daily Dose of Discernment

“He who is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40)

The apostles had just been arguing about who is the greatest and Jesus had just taught them about humility and servanthood being the mark of true greatness, but John is still hung up on having an elite and exclusive status. Here he is objecting to someone casting out demons because he’s not part of their clique. Jesus told him not to hinder him because he who is not against them is for them. Paul echoes Jesus and says that even if a person’s motive for preaching the gospel is wrong, he would be glad. But Jesus also says that he who is not with Him is against Him; that is, he who doesn’t gather with Him scatters. So as long as someone’s objective is to get people into the kingdom and not undermine others and so give Christianity a bad rap, we should also rejoice and pray for more workers like them in God’s vineyard.