In Line With Jesus Christ

“He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.” (Lu 11:23 AV)

 

Pretty straightforward.  No need for extensive explaining or complex context exploration.  Jesus Christ is very clear here.  There is no middle ground, either.  Either an individual is working for the glory of God, or against it.  There is no acceptable neutral position.  If an individual is not with Jesus, he or she is against Him.  If a person is not gathering souls into the kingdom, they are scattering them further away.  This truth is not all that hard to understand.  This simple truth can only be applied one way.  That is, get on board with the LORD Jesus and work for His pleasure.

Working in a factory, there were little adjustments needed to make a line run smoothly.  One of the machines we used was affectionately called the UBE.  That stands for Universal Bread Equipment.  We used this machine to feed our product into the packaging in which one might find it on the shelf.  One the way down the line, the bag was closed and a twist tie was applied.  There was a brush that gathered the bag into the twist tie machine so the tail could be bunched and tied.  Sounds kind of simple.  But it is not.  Unless that tail entered the machine completely flat and spread out, it could easily become bunched.  If that happened, you would have a jam that would shut down the whole line.  To solve this problem, there were a series of fans that manipulated the tail into the shape that the brushes would accept.  These fans were not easy to adjust.  Too much airflow would cause a backdraft.  If the airflow was off by a simple fraction, the product could fly everywhere.  These fans had to be precisely placed so airflow was in the direction of the path of the product and of such volume as to flatten the tail without making it flutter.  Adjustments were very fine.  If the airflow was not in agreement with the direction of the product, the product would scatter.  These fans had to be in unison with the overall objective.  One little maladjustment and the opposite would happen.

When it comes to the priorities and heartbeat of our LORD and Savior, it is the same principle.  If we are not living or serving in concert with His plan, then we are working against it.  If the fan spoken of above did not work at all, it would cause problems.  It would be in the way of a fan that would do the job.  Remaining on the sidelines is not an option.  Doing our dead-level best to learn of the heart of Christ and working in unison with what He has in mind is the only way to say we are followers of Christ.  Our churches are filled with fans that are not working or are slightly off course.  It is time to get that slight adjustment, or maybe even a new motor so that we are not working against that which Jesus Christ desires.