No Neutral Ground

There is a question from Jesus that has challenged me this week.

In Luke 11:23, Jesus says:

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." (NKJV)

Notice that Jesus doesn't leave room for neutrality.

He doesn't divide people into those who are passionately following Him and those who are simply uninvolved. Instead, He says there are only two directions: gathering or scattering.

That has caused me to ask myself a hard question:

Is my life gathering people toward Jesus, or is it simply taking up space?

As Christians, it's easy to measure faithfulness by church attendance, Bible knowledge, or even avoiding obvious sin. Those things matter, but Jesus points to something more. He asks whether our lives are actively helping bring people to Him.

Am I inviting people into the hope of the gospel?

Am I speaking about Christ with my neighbors, coworkers, and friends?

Am I serving in ways that point others to Jesus?

Does my home, my workplace, my social media, and my conversations make it easier for people to see Christ—or easier to ignore Him?

Every day we are influencing someone. The only question is which direction we are influencing them.

The Great Commission wasn't given to pastors alone. It wasn't given only to missionaries or the especially gifted. It was given to every disciple of Jesus.

Maybe today isn't a day to ask whether we believe the right things. Maybe it's a day to ask whether we are gathering.

May God forgive us for the times we've been content simply to be spectators in His Kingdom. And may He give us hearts that see every conversation, every act of kindness, every invitation to church, every gospel conversation, and every opportunity to love someone as another chance to gather people to the Savior.

At the end of the day, every Christian is doing one of two things: gathering with Christ or scattering away from Him. There is no neutral ground.

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." — Luke 11:23