In My Name

Mark 9:38-41 (NIV)
³⁸ "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
³⁹ "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,
⁴⁰ for whoever is not against us is for us.
⁴¹ I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

The disciples think they have done the right thing by telling this man to stop doing things in the name of Jesus. The reason they gave: “because he was not one of us.” The Jewish way of thinking had always been from the perspective of them and us. They were to be a people apart, living in the revelation of God. But that is a natural characteristic of all of us. Perhaps that is part of our strategy to make sense of the world.

God calls us to come out of the world and be separate. It takes place on the inside. We still temporarily reside here on earth. This refers to a new people reborn through the Spirit and made alive in this world. He is doing something new. He is restoring all things.

The revelation of God continues. Jesus expands and alters the boundary of what it means to follow Him. The kingdom of God is realized for one whose life is entrusted to and lived for Jesus. Any good done in His name is a sign of being a Christian, if done to glorify God from a heart without guile. God speaks to others through such a life. Simple acts can serve as light for those who have not found the way and to keep those who have on the right path. A kind word or a cup of water can have a profound impact.

We may find believers in unexpected guises and places, but we will know them if they live “in my name”. That is who we are; that is “us”.