GATHERERS AND SCATTERERS

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters”

                                                                                                                                 Mat: 12: 30

In school, many of our school girls, including me, loved to play one particular game during PT – kabaddi. As most of you know, kabaddi requires two teams. When we divided ourselves up into two teams, I remember that most of us wanted to be on the team that Salma was on. Salma was our senior. She was a beautiful girl, but the reason for the girls’ hankering to be on her team was more than just her beauty. You see, Salma was a very tall strong girl. When she came into your court saying ‘kabaddi kabaddi’, all most of us did, was to run hither and thither, hiding behind each other, avoiding being touched by her, for if she touched you and managed to reach her home court safely, you were “out”. Since Salma was so tall and imposing, and strong, almost everyone wanted to be on her team, or rather, no one wanted to be on the team against hers. But here is what none of us could ever do – stay out of the game just because she was on the opposite team. There could be only two teams, and if you weren’t there in one team, then you automatically wound up in the other team. That’s just how life is in all things. There is always a choice for us between two things. You are either “this” or “that”, “here” or “there”. There is never a gray area. Similarly, in our spiritual life too, there can never be a neutral ground. You are either on the Lord’s side, or on the devil’s side. It is our duty, as Christians, to do the Lord’s work and there is no sidestepping it. If we do not gather with Him, then it is taken as a matter of course that we scatter. Consider carefully, what you want to do today. Do you want to be a gatherer or a scatterer? If you say no to gathering, you are automatically added to the group that said yes to scattering! You cannot stand on the fence hoping to jump to one side or the other when the time comes. If you are not on God’s side of the fence then you are automatically included with those in the devil’s backyard. And I heard tell that that backyard is too hot for comfort. The choice is yours. Jump off the fence. Decide.