Tag: different

“He is Not One of Us”

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Gospel of Luke

Our Gospel reading this week is Luke 9. Let’s begin by looking at verse 46-48.

46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” – Luke 9:46-48 NIV

Why would an argument break out over who was the greatest? It could possibly be a result of the three who went on the mountain with Jesus (Lk. 9:28-36). But if we’re honest with ourselves, we all want to be the greatest, right? Our society is set up this way. We are taught to look up to those who are “the greatest” and try to be like them. Our school systems are set up this way where we honor those from the earliest age who are “the greatest” in grades, attendance, sports ability, and the list goes on and on. We are taught that earthly success, standing high above everyone else in your field, is the most important thing you can do.

Jesus doesn’t say that. In fact, he says exactly the opposite. I like how William Barclay summarizes this passage:

“Jesus was saying, ‘If you are prepared to spend your lives serving, helping, loving people who, in the eyes of the world, do not matter at all, you are serving me and serving God. If you are prepared to spend your life doing these apparently unimportant things and never trying to be what the world calls great, you will be great in the eyes of God.’”

I think this same thinking is involved with the very next thing Luke tells us.

49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.” – Luke 9:49-50 NIV

It seems that John viewed this person as competition. He was more concerned with who was doing the work than what was actually being accomplished. Notice he says “we saw someone driving out demons…” This guy was actually casting out demons, not just trying. God had given him the ability and desire to serve these needy people by casting out demons, and John tried to stop him.

Have you ever done this? Have you ever seen someone doing good works in Jesus’ name but had a problem with it because they were “not one of us?” I know people who refuse to support local efforts to feed the hungry, or clothe the poor because the group doing it are “not one of us.” In light of this passage, how do you think Jesus would handle this? Would he support the good works being done in his name, or would he refuse to join them because they are “not one of us?”

Years later, the same John that tried to stop this man would record for us this prayer of Jesus.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” – John 17:20-21

This One Thing Can Change Your Life Forever!

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Christianity

I hate being told to that I need to change.

I’d much rather have someone tell me that I’m doing everything perfect rather than telling me that something needs to change. In the minds of most people, “change” is always negative, but “do” is new, positive, improved. “Do” is good.

My wife and I were talking just last night about a situation where some people we know are having trouble with change. They are so paralyzed by fear of doing something different that they are missing out on a huge opportunity.

Change is hard. We get comfortable seeing our lives, our jobs, our faith, our way of doing things a certain way. So much so that when new information is introduced, we often struggle to make changes. We cling to what is familiar, and distance ourselves from a new, better way of doing things.

At least we have the comfort of knowing that we are not alone in this struggle. It’s been happening for a very long time. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a group of Christians in Rome who were dealing with the same thing. Here’s what he said:

Romans 12:2 – “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Paul knew that this one change could affect every area of their lives. In short, he’s calling these Christians to be different.

Jesus tells us that the world is a messed up place that tries to get us to be just as messed up. So when we keep doing the same things the world does, when we keep handling situations the way the world does, we become just as messed up.

If you only take away one thing from this post, remember this:

Doing what you’ve always done gets you what you’ve always gotten.

So take a look at your life. Is it chaotic? Are choices you’ve made coming back to haunt you? Are things you planned not quite working out the way you wanted? At the end of the day do you just want to throw your hands up and think “What’s the point?”

If so, it’s time for a change. Learning to think about things the way God does can change every aspect of your life, as long as you will let yourself be different.

This post is part of a series of posts every day this week. To see the other posts on this same subject see these links:

 

Don’t Make This Mistake Today!

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Christianity, Church health, Uncategorized

Have you ever wondered why people are afraid of being different?

How boring would this world be if we were all the same?

If we all had the exact same abilities, and all had the same areas of deficiency, what would this world look like?

The same is true of the church.

The apostle Matthew tells us about Jesus’ thoughts on being different.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

Cannot be hidden…yet too often we try to hide. We are called to be a bright light in a dark world, but we try to cover our light. A city perched on a hilltop for all to see, but we often try to camouflage who we truly are.

Jesus tells us that we shouldn’t try to hide!

Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

We are called to be different. We are called to stand out. We are called to shine our lights so bright that people will take notice of how different we truly are called to be as Christians.

This week we’ll be looking at examples that Jesus and his followers left us of just how different we are supposed to be in this world.

In the meantime, don’t be afraid to be different. Don’t be afraid to stand out.

Don’t be afraid to shine!

Picture by Stefano Cacciatore