get over yourself

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 mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. (Mark 9:38-41, ESV)

This one was a bit of a hard pill to swallow, because it's a pretty convicting passage.

The disciples must've been somewhat upset that this random guy that they saw was casting out demons successfully, considering that a couple of verses ago, they weren't doing that good of a job. On top of that, this guy wasn't following Jesus in the same way the disciples were, so they must've guessed that something wasn't right.

Now, as to who this stranger is, we don't know. What we can assume is that this person must've probably been with Christ or John the Baptist, because as Jesus said before, casting demons out takes power that comes directly from God Himself, and in this time, you must've been given authority by Jesus Himself, or John the Baptist. Again, no one really knows who this dude is.

But either way, this person had a close relationship with God the Father, so having held fast to his faith, he kept on doing what he must've been given authority to do. 

Jesus responds with a comment that doesn't seem to stick in today's Christianity. He says that "the one who is not against us is for us." 

The reason I say that this saying doesn't stick in today's Christianity is because there is so much division amongst Christians today. What Jesus is basically saying is that if someone is not in open rebellion against Christ, then he is to be considered a friend and neighbour in Christ, EVEN if their beliefs are slightly different that ours.

Right off the top of my head, the first thing that pops into my mind is the constant arguing between Calvinists and Arminians. If you don't know what those are, google them up. I haven't heard much from the Arminian side of things, but I have heard far too much from the Calvinists. I've heard people go as far as to say that Arminians are not Christians, they are heretical, and are therefore idiots. They will then go back to their Bibles, memorizing Romans 9 so that they could quote it against the next Arminian they come across.

This is stupid. This is blatant division that is deliberately being created by Calvinists. Now, I will say that though I don't call myself a Calvinist, I do theologically lean towards the doctrines of election. At the end of the day, does that matter? Not in the slightest bit.

Arminians will just as much proclaim Christ as Calvinists do. And for that, I am glad. Paul writes in Philippians 1 that he has seen people preach the Gospel with good will AS WELL as people preaching the Gospel out of envy and rivalry. Sure, he acknowledges their fault, but at the end of it all, Paul says that he rejoices because either way, Christ is being proclaimed.

If Paul can rejoice when people spread the Gospel out of envy and rivalry, we should not at all be bothered when people spread the Gospel from a Calvinistic point of view, or an Arminian point of view. 

This applies to many other common debates within the Christian sphere. At the end of the day, as Jesus says, if the other party gives you a measly cup of water because you belong to Christ, then they will not lose their reward.

I am not an exception to what I say, by the way. I am irked by and still struggle with "faults" that I see in other people. But at the end of the day, if they proclaim Christ, then that's fine with me. Christ prayed in John 17 that we would be one, as Christ and God are one. We cannot and will not be one if we spend more time arguing over these grey areas. It is through our unity that people will see the glory of God, because if God is powerful enough to unite a bunch of idiotic sinners, then surely, He can overcome the sinner's heart.

Now, I am NOT in any way saying that we should tolerate heretics. Heretics are wolves in sheep's clothing, and they must be called out. They are rebels against God, wearing Christian name tags, and must be identified and declared against, publicly if necessary. But there are many small things (again, Calvinism vs. Arminianism) that can be easily over looked, and if anything, must be over looked for the sake of the edification of the body of Christ. 

Brothers and sisters, we must be willing to drop every pre-conceived notion and prejudice so that we can build each other up. This is what Christ came to earth for, this is what He died for, and this is what He came back to life for. Get over yourself, and let God deal with each of us personally when it comes to our personal doctrines. In the mean time, however, strive to build each other up, and love each other, and include each other for the sake of the body.

We are His body now, and it cannot be broken by our debates and disagreements. 

-simon