Jesus Christ

In Matthew 12:30 Jesus warns: He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Sometimes people get caught up in a middle-of-the-road sort of religion. They don’t actively oppose God—they merely do nothing at all. They go to church when it’s convenient, accept God’s teachings when those teachings match their own, read the scriptures when they’ve nothing better to do and pray when they need something. When God is challenged by non-believers, they remain silent. In their minds, they may be Christians, but it might be hard for outsiders to know. There is an old saying that asks, “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Mark E. Peterson is a former leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons. He talked about the types of people who were around Jesus. Some followed Him faithfully. Some actively worked against Him. Others simply didn’t care. They ignored Him, almost as if He weren’t there. Oh, they might have listened a time or two out of curiosity, but Jesus wasn’t important to them one way or the other. Some might have felt that since they weren’t actively opposing the Savior, there was no condemnation, or at least less than there was for those who opposed Him. Elder Peterson said:

“Then there were the indifferent ones. Can we say that they were for the Lord or against him, or were they merely, as we say, indifferent? I call to your mind that the indifferent ones did not keep the commandments, and by their indifference they encouraged others to be indifferent, and as the others became indifferent, they also refused to obey the commandments of the Lord their God.

“These indifferent ones built up a barrier against the Christ, and as they spread the example of disobedience they became a hindrance to him in his work, and for that reason the Lord said:

“He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. (Matt. 12:30.)” (Mark E. Petersen in CR, Apr. 1945, pp. 41–42.)

God doesn’t call on us to be spectators in the gospel. He expects us to be active participants. He depends on us to share what we know, to set a good example, and to defend Him and His Son as often as we need to, regardless of the consequences. Sometimes this means putting aside our worldly priorities to focus on eternal ones. Being a visible Christian might interfere with your career or your social life, it might keep you from being seen as popular or “modern” with certain types of people, but these types of concerns are only temporary and in the eternal scheme of things, doesn’t really matter.

Mormons sing a hymn that asks, “Who’s On the Lord’s Side?” It goes on to ask, “Now is the time to show.”

What does our life say about whose side we’re on? There is no middle line—we’re on the Lord’s side completely, or we’re not on it at all.

Tags: Bible devotionals, Christian, Christian defender, Christian living, New Testament devotionals, who's on the Lord's side

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