God's Garden - Pt. 10

An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” 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 9:46-50 ESV).

 

Some years ago I built a cedar planter to fit into the corner of our deck. Each year I have planter various flowering vines or other plants to brighten the area. As you can see, even with the high heat of our summers here in Texas, they are doing well. However, what you may not notice at first glance are the flowers growing out of the side. I call them “volunteers.” Each year after the roots of the plants I place in the soil, I often have a few others that just grow and share their blooms with us as well. I suppose I could weed out the “volunteers” and make the garden more uniform with this year’s planting; however, then I would surely miss the display of beauty and tenacity. They are welcome to our palette anytime.

 

Our reading details a similar circumstance. The mostly clueless and competing disciples of Jesus reported that they saw a “volunteer” driving out demons in Jesus’ name. They had followed their impulse and tried to remove him from their company. But Jesus’ perspective is more expansive. He tells his faltering followers to let the “volunteer” keep working.

 

Perhaps you have faced a similar dilemma when observing Christ followers who may think, talk, and act differently from the way you do. The style of their service may not suit your tastes. But if they bear fruit in Jesus’ name, we need to heed Jesus’ words of correction: “Whoever is not against you is for you” (v. 50). In fact, perhaps we need to explore ways to work together with this “volunteer” in the kingdom garden. It’s never about who is “greatest” in the kingdom; it is always about the name of Jesus being lifted up for all me to be drawn by the Holy Spirit to healing and life. If we deter that in any way, we have made a serious error.