Love Generously, Part I

True love is selfless. Too many relationships described as loving today are anything but, for the people involved are actually focused on themselves and how the people they are “in love with” or “love” cause them to feel. “I love her because she makes me feel good about me.” “I love him because he’s so goofy.” (That implies he brings her amusement.) “We love our uncle because he spoils us.” That’s not the way love is supposed to be at all. Let me give you a picture of love:

  His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.  – Job 1:4-5, ESV

Job was concerned about the spiritual state of his children. Whether or not he knew of any issues, he still spent the time and energy to offer sacrifices to God on his children’s behalf. Verse 5 ends with the comment that Job did this continually. It wasn’t a one time thing. It was an all the time thing. That’s true love. And when you consider that making a burnt offering likely consisted of the sacrifice of some of his livestock or flocks, this wasn’t an inexpensive offering, either. It cost Job something to perform this. Job loved his children so much, that even if he had no reason to assume they needed intercession, he went ahead and did it anyway. That’s not just love, but that’s love executed in a very generous way.

The interesting thing about this action by a loving father is that it flies in the face of what the world says about love today. Job’s actions weren’t performed to make his children feel better about themselves. He didn’t shower them (in this act) with things. As a matter of fact, there was no direct, tangible benefit to Job’s offering sacrifices on behalf of his children. Loving generously isn’t about stuff. And it’s not about doing things just to make the other person feel better. Loving generously is considering what the other person might need and meeting it in abundance. When Job looked on his children, he knew they needed a right relationship with God. Now we can debate the effectiveness of Job’s actions, but that’s not the point. What is the point is Job focused on what is the most important aspect of our lives: our relationship with God (or lack thereof). And it is obvious that he took the steps to do everything in his power to help their relationships.

Take a step back this week and really look at what love is. Often cited is 1 Corinthians 13 and it is the basis of our understanding of what love is. Paul gives specific examples of what it is and what it isn’t. Weigh what you’ve considered to be loving and unloving actions against that standard. Then think about the folks closest to you. Think about how to show real love, the way God defines it, towards them. The ones we’re closest to will often respond positively to genuine acts of love. Seek to do generous things. Maybe it’s going over and sitting with your mom for an afternoon while she reminds you of all your foibles of childhood, meanwhile clenching your teeth and reminding yourself that what she really needs is company, and you’re doing your part. Or maybe it’s calling up a best friend that you’ve been tense with lately and being the first to apologize and do so profusely… to the point where they say, “Stop! Enough! Okay, I forgive you!” Whatever it is, seek to start with those closest to you and then expand outwards. We want to live generously because God has loved us so generously. His is the example and the standard we should be shooting for.

Living Generously, Part V

Living generously isn’t about the amount of money. It’s simply about being there to help others when they need help. Scripture reminds us that it is the heart attitude that counts. And this is the point made to two people right before they are judged by God. God wasn’t judging them on the amount they gave, but rather on the fact that they tried to pretend they gave it all when they didn’t. They broke the trust with fellow believers suffering with them.

  But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?”

“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”

Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
                    – Acts 5:1-10, NLT

We see from Peter’s words that it wasn’t about the amount of money. That wasn’t why they were in trouble. Rather, it was because they chose to lie to fellow believers. While we see the rich young ruler being commanded to give it all up, that was about a heart issue: his love for his money and his possessions. So with God it’s not proper to conclude that He wants us to give it all up. It’s also not safe to conclude that He wants us to horde it for a rainy day.  What is safe to conclude is He wants us to be obedient, to be compassionate, to be sacrificial. And sometimes that giving isn’t about money at all. Acts of service is part of living generously.

The point is to meet the need. That’s what God expects of us. If we don’t have enough but He calls us to meet it, He’ll fill in the gap. Giving isn’t about pride; it’s about humility. Therefore, if we focus on amount, a human measure, we’re dead wrong. In living generously, don’t worry about the amount, no matter how large or how small. Let us simply focus on meeting the needs of those around us, depending on God to honor His promises, and living by faith. This is living generously.

Living Generously, Part IV

Giving up the last you have of something for someone else can take a lot of love. I know examples where this isn’t true can easily be created. For instance, when you’ve eaten all but two slices of that large pizza, allowing your spouse to have those two final pieces isn’t a sacrifice (no, it’s not). It probably doesn’t require much love. Those aren’t the cases I’m talking about. I’m talking the situations where you’re hungry, when all you have is enough food for you, and when it will be a long time before you eat again. When you give up your food willingly then, that’s a sacrifice. Those are the situations God can use to show His love, both to you and to the one(s) you are giving up for. And that’s exactly what He did through a boy.

  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.  – John 6:9-13, ESV

Five thousand people had gathered to hear Jesus and have Him heal them. We know from Matthew 14 that it was evening. The crowd was far from any place where they could get a meal. No one had planned for a crowd that large and there wasn’t food readily available. This was a tough spot. Philip did the math. Not only was there no place nearby to buy enough to feed the folks, but the cost was too high. Then Andrew shows up with a boy. The boy’s haul is five loaves of bread and two fish. That’s it? That won’t make a dent in anything. Yet Jesus has the folks sit down, He asks for a blessing on the food, and the food is distributed. Everybody was fed and there were plenty of leftovers.

How could five loaves of bread and two fish feed five thousand people? Was this kid competing for a world record like we sometimes where a town gets together to build the world’s largest pizza? No. They were simply five loaves of bread and two fish. Yet enough was had for everybody. From little came much. From the sacrifice of a boy came the meal for five thousand. This is what God is prepared to do. This is why He says trust Him. We might not have much. That’s not the point. Truth be told, He doesn’t require anything from us. He can do it without us. However, He is interested in our development. He loves us and wants what is best for us. That means He wants us to learn how to trust Him and to put our faith in what He promises, not in what we can see and touch. For one boy, his sacrifice proved to be an unthinkable miracle. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but I hope he went away a believer that day.

That’s why the BIble says to live generously. God wants us to put our faith in Him. He wants to show us He can deliver when no one else can. He wants to prove to us that He is involved in our lives and is watching over us. If we put our trust in Him and we respond according to His call, He promises to take care of us and the person we are helping. He’s not promising enormous wealth, at least not here. He is promising that He’s going to step in when we need Him, but first we must step in to help others. We must treat our money and possessions for they are: tools, opportunities, and instruments of love to share the Gospel. It doesn’t matter what kind of financial or emotional or any other type of condition we find ourselves in. What’s stopping you? Don’t know if you can make it? If you’re following God’s lead, you will. He tells us not to worry about tomorrow. That’s because He is beside us today. Do you enjoy the trappings of having money too much? That can keep you from where you want to be. Ask the rich, young ruler. He had it all, but when he couldn’t follow Jesus, it all amounted to zero. What stopped him? Money and possessions did. Let us not be like the rich young ruler. Let’s be like the boy who helped feed the five thousand. Let’s take God at His Word, make a difference to those around us, and then watch as God blesses us and them.

Living Generously, Part III

You know you should help somebody else out. However, as you look at your own condition, you need help yourself. Helping the other person means doing without for you and/or your family. And we’re not just talking about something frivolous. We aren’t meaning you have to postpone buying that new HD TV for your bedroom. We’re talking about real hardship… doing without a car or not replacing a coat that really should have been traded in two years ago or even not having enough food for everyone to eat properly. Wait, that last one is especially harsh, so would God ask it? What if it was the last bit of food you had in the refrigerator and you had no ability to get any more? Could God ask you to give that up, too? Well, we say our God is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And if that’s the case, then, yes, based on previous history, He could ask you to do just that.

  Then the word of the LORD came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.  - 1 Kings 17:8-16, ESV

The setup is simple: God wants Elijah to go hang out with a widow and her son, because it will be the widow’s responsibility to ensure Elijah is fed. When Elijah gets there, he immediately obeys what God said and asks for something to eat. She then tells Elijah the stark truth: she only has enough supplies for one more meal for her and her son. She was collecting the sticks for the fire to bake that last meal. Then they were signing off. They had no other hope. After all, Israel was wracked in famine because there had been no rain. Then Elijah reveals some news that many of us would have been dubious about hearing. Elijah basically said, “Even though the food should run out, it’s not going to. At least, not until there’s rain and additional food is readily available again.”

The widow had to take what her eyes, mind, and stomach were telling her and put those observations to the side. She had to trust the message from God’s prophet that God would provide a miraculous supply. She had no physical evidence, nothing the world would consider as proof, to justify her listening to Elijah. If she just kept the food for herself and her son, they would make it another day. Though the situation looked impossible, one more day gave another day to find a way. A lot of us would have politely declined, thought Elijah crazy, and taken that one more day. And if we had, we wouldn’t have lasted. The only way the widow and her son were going to survive was to trust God.

She did that. The food didn’t run out. And the Lord had another reason for Elijah to be there. We learn in later verses there was still uncertainty. She wasn’t sure Elijah was a prophet of God. God performs yet another miracle through Elijah, thus solidifying her faith. But until that bigger miracle, she didn’t have perfect assurance. Sure, he looked and sounded the part, but how could she be certain? Still, something must have spurred her to obey. As a result, both her and her son lived. If anyone gave generously in the Bible, this widow did. She gave up her last meal for another, one who was a total stranger to her. Then God fulfilled His promise from Deuteronomy 15. This is God delivering enough to cover the giver and the receiver. And this is God doing it in a way that shows that it was Him and only Him.

When we are willing to give generously as we are led by the Holy Spirit, we embrace the same promise. We may not see a great miracle like Elijah, the widow, and her son witnessed. God may have another way of meeting our needs. But the bottom line is He will meet them. He won’t let us down. We must be prepared for Him to ask whatever He may of us. He might ask us to give up our last morsel of food for a total stranger. Or He might ask for something even more personal and important to us. But He won’t ask it without cause, and He won’t ask it without a support system to go with it. Therefore, we need to trust Him as we listen to Him and give generously to those around us who are in need.

Living Generously, Part II

When it comes to helping others, our natural tendency is to look at what state we’re currently in. If I’m having trouble making ends meet, how can I possibly extend a hand to another? The problem with this line of thinking, at least for a Christian, is it excludes God. If this is the way I’m thinking, I’m only looking at what I’m capable of doing. I’m not looking at what God wants to do. As a result, I may miss opportunities to help another because I’m too focused on myself and not focused enough on God. That’s why God tells us to live generously. He wants us to help those around us who have genuine needs. If your buddy needs a few extra bucks to buy a muscle car, that’s not a need. But if a family you met at the grocery store is having trouble affording groceries (and you can tell by the choices they make) or that kid down the street doesn’t have a winter coat, those are. We’re to meet them.

  “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’  - Deuteronomy 15:7-11, ESV

We aren’t to harden our hearts. We aren’t to close our hands. Rather, we are to give freely to a brother in need, what the ESV calls a poor brother. The natural human response in times of hardship is to hoard and protect. There is little to go around so we hold on to what we can. Yet God says to do the opposite. He is saying we are to be generous, even when the world says we can’t afford to be. Why does He ask us to be this way? He asks us because of a promise He gives us: He will bless us in all our work and in all that we undertake. In other words, God is saying, “If you take care of others soft-heartedly and unconditionally, I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of, too.”

Now He didn’t say He would give us our wildest dreams. He didn’t say that we’ll go from clipping coupons to laying out on a beach in Bermuda. He simply said He would bless us. He will take care of us. And He defines how that happens and by what method. I’ve seen folks take this set of passages and say, “If you give a little, God is going to give a lot,” and mean money. That’s not what this passage says. God is going to bless us. Unconditional favor isn’t limited by money. Sometimes, often times, we need other things more than we need money. So we can count on the promise that He will bless us.

He doesn’t promise we’ll become filthy rich and live a life of luxury for the rest of our days. But He promises that He’ll meet our needs. That means He’ll take care of the difference. If the Holy Spirit leads us to give sacrificially, we can take heart in the fact that God notices and that He has a way to make up for what we’re lacking. Yes, it requires an enormous leap of faith, especially when we’re struggling, but that’s when God will come through the most. Sometimes He’ll give us a miracle that is what the world thinks of when we say miracle: something that is beyond explanation. Other times He’ll have a Christian brother or sister follow through on the same set of verses and we are the poor brother that is helped. Don’t be surprised by either one. Count on the promise. The fact of the matter is if God is asking us to help someone in need, we must put aside any thought of our current state and instead focus on the person we’ve been called to help. We’re to give generously and to count on God to fulfill His promise. In the next couple of days we’ll look at examples of folks who did just that and how they were floored by God coming through for them. Trust Him. He won’t let you down.

Living Generously, Part I

There’s an interesting set of verses right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount that most people have a particular interpretation on. Those verses are:

  “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  – Matthew 6:2-4, ESV

When these verses are often examined from the pulpit, the focus is on how we are to give. We aren’t to give to puff ourselves up. We aren’t to give to have everyone look at us and think, “Wow, those folks are really generous and awesome!” We aren’t to give with the intent of any gain, real or imagined, for ourselves. And that’s a valid interpretation. That’s the right interpretation when you’re looking at how to give. But what is often missed is what these verses say about if we should give.

The answer to that question is in the fact that Jesus said, “When you give.” Actually, the full phrase in this translation is, “When you give to the needy.” Jesus says it twice. Other translations may use synonyms for “needy” but they all still say, “When you give.” In other words, there’s not a question about if we should give. It’s expected. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to give to the needy. We are to be intentional about it. And note that Jesus didn’t put any conditions on our own state. That’s not relevant. Yes, we may be struggling to make ends meet, but if we come across someone who is needy and we can help, we help. And we help without fanfare or applause because our reason for helping is simply because it was needed and we could.

I understand the implications of these verses. What God is saying here is something very, very simple: provide for others and I will provide for you. In other words, don’t look at your current state and think, “I can’t.” Rather, seek God and ask, “Should I?” If you are led by the Holy Spirit to do so, you should, regardless of your current state. God will meet that person’s need as well as your own. We will look at that more tomorrow by going back to the Old Testament. In other words, God is saying, “Trust me. Exercise your faith.” And this is where we often stumble. We look at what we can do and we say, “I’d love to help but…” and sometimes that’s exactly where God wants us. We can’t help if left to our own resources. He is waiting for us to call on Him and look to Him for what we need to be the providers of support, love, encouragement, and help in this world. We’ll look at examples this week where folks had to walk by faith to obey God, where they literally put their own lives and the lives of the ones they loved on the line as they trusted in Him. God always came through. So if you feel the Holy Spirit pressing upon you to provide for the needy, in whatever capacity, do it, especially when you know it’s going to require sacrifice. If you’re sure the leading is from God, follow His lead. Walk by faith. And live generously so that others may see Him through your hands and your heart.

Count the Cost

The Gospel isn’t a feel good message in the traditional sense. It is a reassuring message in that though we are sinners and deserve Hell for our actions, God in His grace and mercy gives us forgiveness, desires a relationship with us, and opens the gates of heaven to us in eternity. That first means, however, coming to grips with the fact that we are sinners, that we are in a condition that we can’t correct or fix, and that there is an eternal punishment we all deserve for our actions. We like to think of ourselves as good people, and this is something I hear folks repeating all the time, “We’re good at heart.” The Bible rejects that and if we really want to challenge that lie, it doesn’t take us very long to come up with numerous examples that show how big a lie it is.

Another lie that we keep perpetuating is that if one comes to Jesus, everything will be better. Our problems will be fixed, our life better, we’ll get the job we want, a bigger house, the new car, etc. We may not say it so brazenly (though some do), but this is what we imply. When we tell people life will be better, how will they take it? If they are still thinking with a worldly perspective (what other perspective could they have), they will naturally assume we mean those things. And truth be told, we sometimes (too often, in fact) fall for this trap ourselves. The thing to remember is that Christ didn’t promise this. If anything, Jesus warned us to expect the opposite.

  As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  - Luke 9:57-62, ESV

If Jesus had no place to lay his head, and the servant is not greater than the master, then we must anticipate the possibility that he will ask the same of us. When he tells one not to bury his father, that seems harsh, and taken literally, it is harsh, but possibly necessary. Think of military personnel stationed abroad who have loved ones pass away and they may not be able to make it back. Taken from a cultural perspective, it probably meant the person was waiting on his father to die, but with no set timetable (obviously). Therefore, Jesus calls him at the root of his excuse. Another one wants to say farewell to those he is walking away from and Jesus said no. Again, literally this seems harsh but really, it’s another attempt to beg off a commitment to the Kingdom. These are the responses of those who want what Jesus offers by following Him but aren’t willing to accept the cost to doing so. In other words, they are trying to bargain with God. How often we do that, too.

The bottom line is that following after Jesus has the potential to be costly. It could cost us everything of earthly value in our lives. It could cost us our earthly lives. The Christian faith is filled with stories of martyrs who gave their lives for Christ. Some of these are well known. Most aren’t. And we hear very few stories of folks who have abandoned every earthly possession to follow after Jesus, but for some, this is the requirement. This flies in the face of the idea that if we follow Jesus everything will be better. From an earthly perspective, we must understand that it is more likely to be quite the opposite. That is, if we’re truly being obedient to Christ. We need to “count the cost.” We need to understand what may be asked of us and gird ourselves for it. This will better prepare us to sacrifice what is required for the Kingdom. The silver lining is the promise that whatever we give up in this lifetime will be a pittance compared to what will be prepared for us for eternity.

A Scorched Earth Policy Is Not the Best Approach

When I have a disagreement with someone, I usually love to be right. If we’re talking about something horrible, like the impact of a car accident, and I take the worst case scenario, then I certainly hope I’m wrong. I desperately want to be wrong in that situation. Or if a relative is trying to determine what’s going on with his or her health and I suspect cancer, I want to be wrong. But putting exceptions like these aside, I want to be right. We all do. We don’t like being wrong. The question each of us needs to ask is, “How do I handle being right?”

  When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.  – Luke 9:51-56, ESV

Jesus wanted to enter a village, but the residents there didn’t want to let Him. A lot probably had to do with the racial tensions between the Samaritans and the Jews, which is probably why we are told it was a village of Samaritans. The villagers were wrong to refuse Jesus’ entrance. They were refusing entrance to the Son of God. James and John, incensed by this, asked Jesus if they can call down fire from heaven. Likely, racial tensions had something to do with James and John’s response as well. But we’re told Jesus rebuked the two. There would be no fire from heaven. The group simply moved on to the next village.

James and John wanted to take a scorched earth policy, literally. However, Jesus stopped that nonsense. It wasn’t that the two were wrong in their position that the village had no right to stop Jesus. Instead, they were wrong in their response. In other words, they failed the question, “How do I handle being right?” It’s about more than being right. It’s about doing the right thing, even in the face of someone else being wrong or someone else doing the wrong thing. That’s what Jesus teaches us here.

For a lot of us, when we’re wronged or when we’re in a disagreement and the other person is wrong, we want to see some consequences. We want to have immediate results. Whether that be they “get what’s coming to them,” or the other person apologizing and admitting his or her mistake, we want to see recognition of our “rightness.” If anyone should have insisted upon this, that person should have been the Son of God. He didn’t. He took a substantially more graceful approach, didn’t He? When He had every right to bring the fire down, He chose to move on and leave this village in peace. There was more at stake than just one village’s poor choice.

How about for us? Usually when there’s a disagreement or an issue, there is more at stake than what is immediately before us. There are relationships to consider. They are future opportunities to share the Gospel to remember. There is our example to those who might be watching. Therefore, while we may be right, we must consider our approach and our attitude. Sometimes the best thing to do is to accept the fact that it’s a bad situation and move on. This is what Jesus did in the Scripture for today. But in other cases we know Jesus confronted the issue head on, such as at the Temple with the moneychangers. The Holy Spirit can and will guide us to the right choice, but we must be open to not acting as we might want to and instead acting in the best interest of God, willingly choosing to forgo any personal vindication for the future opportunities that we can’t yet see.

Unity Is in Christ

There are a lot of denominations out there today. There are a lot of churches within those denominations. There are sides within those denominations which churches find themselves on and even within each individual church there are multiple sides of every issue. We focus so much on what divides us that we forget about what is supposed to unify us: Christ.

John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”  – Luke 9:49-50, ESV

There are a couple of key things to understand in these two passages. First, the person John was speaking of was being effective. Second, he was being effective in the name of Christ. When I say effective, I don’t mean in the typical ways we measure success. He didn’t have a large number of disciples. He wasn’t rolling in money. He didn’t have his own time slot at the synagogue. He might have, but that’s not what John referred to. What he cited was the fact that this man was casting out demons in the name of Jesus. In other words, there was something beyond worldly and logical explanation going on with the name of Jesus attached to it. Yet he wasn’t in the group of Jesus’ immediate disciples.

Note what John said, “We tried to stop him.” Why? Simply, because he wasn’t part of the group John was in. Jesus’ rebuke is gentle, but sure, “Do not stop him.” In other words, change course. Don’t get in his way. Why? “The one who is not against you is for you.” The qualifier was that the man was doing things in Jesus’ name that weren’t explainable by normal means. He wasn’t contending with the disciples, meaning he wasn’t the enemy. Rather, he was working for the same purpose: the kingdom of God. Therefore, the disciples needed to let him be. They didn’t need to get in his way. They needed to understand that they and he were on the same team.

From everything we can tell, the man’s doctrine and actions were correct. They matched up with Jesus Christ. As a result, power flowed through him and he was able to cast out demons in Jesus’ name. The only thing that was different was that he didn’t happen to be part of the disciples John was a part of. This gives us a good idea about unity in Christ. Unity in Christ isn’t about putting aside key doctrinal differences. It’s not about supporting someone who is promoting false teaching simply because that person calls himself or herself a Christian. It’s also not about supporting a message that differs from the Gospel because the other religion acknowledges Jesus in some way. Nor is it looking at earthly ways of measuring success and determining, “God must be with this person because of what they are achieving, so they must be all right with God.”

Doctrine (as in, a solid understanding of our faith) still matters. Actions are still critical. Words are still important. They enter into a determination of unity. But if all that is fine and the other person just happens to be in a different grouping, we’re not on different teams. We’re on the same team. And we need to be supporting one another, not fighting against each other. This is an issue that plagues the American Church heavily and we ought to know better. Our nation’s history is filled with examples of teams overcoming and succeeding, of measuring out to be greater than the sum of their parts. Yet when it comes to churches and church life, we can be incredibly divisive, even within a single congregation! This isn’t the way Christ intends it to be. He intends us to all be working together for the good of the Kingdom. This is a calling to all of us. It’s not specific and personal only to a few. If you are part of the Church, then you’re part of that call. Part of that call together.

Do you have an issue with a brother or sister in Christ that you’ve not resolved? If it’s not a doctrinal issue, which must always be resolved through correcting the understanding of doctrine, what else is keeping you separated? What can you do about it? How can you, with the help of the Holy Spirit, correct the situation? What is preventing unity within your local church acquaintances (not just those who are members of your church) if the other points are okay? Will you seek after and desire to correct them today, to be in keeping with Christ’s teaching, to be part of a team moving forward for His Kingdom?

Never Be Ashamed of Your God

If you are a teenager or an adult, at some point in your life you have been embarrassed to be seen with your parents. They weren’t cool enough. They were pointing out things about you or picking at you in ways you didn’t appreciate. Maybe you were trying to impress someone you had a crush on and the last thing you wanted was for your mom or dad to be in the picture. I think we’ve all been there. That’s a part of life. But while it’s one thing to be embarrassed about your parents for an occasion (notice I didn’t say all the time), it’s never okay to be embarrassed about your Savior.

  For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.  - Luke 9:26, ESV

This just doesn’t include the fact that you go to church, or that you call yourself a Christian, or that you are seen as a “goody two shoes” by your acquaintances. It also means the very words of Scripture itself. He made sure we understood that when He said, “of me and of my words.” So maybe there’s a particular teaching we don’t like a whole lot because it hits close to home. Or maybe we’re interacting with a group of folks of whom the teaching is applicable to. You can’t be ashamed of the words of Scripture. I can’t pick and choose when I want to apply them. Not if we truly love Christ.

A classic example is when there’s some off-color humor among the crowd and you want to fit in. While you may not say anything, by sticking around you’re giving tacit agreement to the words that are being used. We’re not to be a part of coarse joking (Ephesians 5:4). Sooner or later someone is going to call us on it. Then what do we do? I can think of some of the responses, “Hey, guys, while those jokes aren’t for me, we’re cool, because you’re my friends,” or “It’s okay, because I’m not the one saying the jokes,” or some other justification. But aren’t we being ashamed of Jesus’ words? Now I’m not saying we shut things down and say, “You fools! Stop this nonsense right now!” That’s not the right approach, either. But excusing yourself probably is. If asked we should respond with something like, “Well, I know you guys like these kinds of jokes and if you want to tell them, it’s not for me to tell you to stop. But based on my beliefs, this isn’t something I can hang around in and participate in. You guys are my friends, but this is just something I’ll have to skip on.” Friends will understand. Real friends will even modify their behavior so you can participate and stick around. Folks who get offended? They aren’t thinking about you. And that’s really all that needs to be said about that.

There are so many examples where we, by our action or inaction, show that we are ashamed of Christ or His Word. We need to stop. We need to put our hearts right and love Him and love His Word more than we love our own comfort or desire to fit in. Our fleshly nature will always rebel against us. We should expect this and be prepared for it. After all, we don’t want Christ to be ashamed of us before the Father. He’s our only way for forgiveness. He’s the exclusive way to heaven. This is what Scripture teaches. We say He is right and perfect and just and loving. Our actions and our hearts should reflect that. Don’t be ashamed of the Savior or His Word.