Luke 11:23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathers not with me scatters. We are all either "gatherers" or "scatterers"; either workmen in the erection of a vast spiritual fabric, or destroyers who lay its honour in the dust. 1. We remind you, then, in the first place, that you are "scattering" Christ's seed in the world, if you are not "gathering" it. The absence of the Christian temper in your daily conduct, the absence of Christian charitableness in your judgment of your fellow-men — nay, the mere absence of all concern for the glory and spread of the Redeemer's triumphs, will all be, in effect, an absolute accession to the strength of His adversary; and that for this simple reason — that the war which Christ is carrying on is essentially aggressive. To stand still, therefore, in spiritual things is to help Satan. If you are "not with Christ," you are "against Him"; if you "gather not with Him," you are "scattering abroad." 2. Again: you are "scattering" Christ's flock in your families, if you do not "gather" them. 3. Again: you are "scattering" Christ's precious gifts in your own hearts, if you are not "gathering" them. Consider, then, what use you are making of the gifts which Christ hath given you. 4. But this text must have a more awful illustration still. Christ's scatterers and Christ's gatherers must have one more meeting yet; and only one. The gathered seed shall expand and ripen, till it becomes fit for the garners and the stores of heaven. The gathered flock shall rise from earth and sea, and pass under the portals of the everlasting dome. The gathered graces of the Redeemer shall be purged from their earthly dross, forming by their clustered brightness the "new name" upon His brow. But the scattered seed which you did not prize, the scattered flock which you would not feed, the scattered graces that you would neither seek nor keep nor bind up, shall all rise up in judgment against you, and in their turn shall scatter you. Christ Himself will be the only gatherer then. (D. Moore, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.WEB: "He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn't gather with me scatters. |
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