For and Against

"...no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against you is for you..."      Jesus to his disciples in Mark 9


"Whoever is not against you is for you" is a lot different from the inverse of the statement which seems to be more commonly used: "If you are not for me you are against me."  The main difference is in pure numbers.  There are a whole lot of people, probably most people in the world, who are "not against you", while those who actually know you and are "for" you are probably few in number.  

Jesus' way of seeing "for and against" immediately assumes inclusion and acceptance of others.  The other way assumes exclusion and rejection.

The 8th Chapter of Romans eloquently articulates the world view available to us when we discover the Eternal Presence of God, the Spirit of Christ, in our lives and the lives of others, the summation of which is:  "If God is for us who can be against us?"   And even though it is a rhetorical question, the answer is provided: nothing can "separate us from the  love of God."

A juxtaposition of Mark and Romans gives us a pretty good way to see the world:
Whoever is not against you is for you.  If God is for you who can be against you?