mark 9:38-41 :: whoever is not against us is for us

well, well, john…being awefully exclusive aren’t we?

we see others acting in the Name of Christ and instantly throw down condemnation and guilt because they don’t operate they we we do or aren’t a part of our expected circle of allies. what is up with that?

i like rob bell, but i don’t agree with everything he does and says. he’s got some good methodologies, and some that aren’t my cup of tea, but i still appreciate everything he does for the Kingdom. one thing he said was that “we need to claim truth wherever we find it…” and i think he’s got a good point there. if someone utters truth, even if it is unexpected, then we must accept it, because truth cannot, by nature, be anything other than itself. and if truth is truth, then regardless of the lips that spoke it, we must accept it.

there are plenty of people in scripture who did not truly fear God, or act in his agency that spoke truth or prophecy. King Nebuchadnezzar speaking of YHWH as a “g”od but experiencing His wisdom through daniel, Caiaphas speaking about the need for one man to die for the people while putting Jesus on trial, Pilate’s confirmation of Jesus character as flawless, and many more.

but this man, driving out demons in Jesus’ Name was strange to the disciples, so the put the kibosh on him. but Jesus tells them not to do that…if his ministry is proved to be legit by the fruits it brings forth, then do not question him as being a fraud or as doing something he shouldn’t. he was acting in God’s interest, and for God’s purposes in bringing about restoration to someone who had been waylaid by evil itself.

the heart of the individual will come out in their work. and even if it comes from an unexpected place, we must be ready to accept that God will sometimes work in ways that are outside of our normal experience. if He only operated with in our sphere of normalcy, we would be very disappointed and wouldn’t have received 3/4 of Scripture or the events that comprise the whole. God’s hand at work goes beyond our understanding and expectations, and that’s a very good thing.

let’s be thankful, then, for people with unconventional minstries that meet the needs of the Kingdom of God and spead the Gospel of grace and salvation.