“‘Master,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in Your Name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘for whoever is not against you is for you.’” Luke 9:49-50
When I first came to Christ, I was part of a church that believed we were the only pure expression of Christianity in our city. Every sermon featured some way we were better than everyone else. We only used the King James Bible, for instance, and believed every other translation was defiled and leading people into heresy. We were “it,” and everyone else was deceived at some level.
Looking back, I feel sadness for how proud and blind we were; not just about ourselves, but about who God is. We had made the God of all grace so small and picky that if you didn’t believe exactly like we did you were on the outside. The truth is that we were small and picky, not God.
John is clearly proud of his rebuke of this man who wasn’t, “one of us.” Jesus had a wider circle of those who are with Him.
People come to me with accusations against Christian leaders across the body of Christ. Sometimes it’s about what a leader said and sometimes it’s about something questionable they did. I’m almost always in agreement with those who are bringing the charge, leaders are flawed and often say things and do things that are a little off. But once in a while the person bringing the accusation wants more than agreement, they want me to publicly renounce that leader and their group.
At this point I become a disappointment to them. Jesus is not ashamed to call me His brother (Hebrews 2:11) with all of my flaws and errors, so I want to be unashamed to stand next to brothers and sisters who love Jesus, but aren’t just like our group.
I understand and value the desire for truth and the need to be on guard against deception, but we must be very careful before pointing the finger at others lest we condemn someone who Jesus accepts and delights in. May God help us be humble and generous toward all those who are different from us. “Accept one another,” Paul says to Christians who were judging each other over minor differences, “just as Christ has accepted you.” (Romans 15:7)
One Thing 