Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

Jesus reminds us: “For whoever is not against us is for us.” Why is it so hard for us to remember this? There are many good souls in the world that love God and seek to do His will. Whether they are christians, or budhists, or jews, etc., there are many people, that while confused about who God is are nevertheless, still loving and worshiping the same God as we are. Pope St. John Paul II made this point in His encyclical “Fides et Ratio” that many (but not all), of the worlds religions are seeking the same God as we are, and this fact makes them our brothers and sisters in Christ. Vatican taught this same teaching, calling it the “many lights” that lead to the lord.

So how do we reconcile this teaching with Jesus’ own words when He said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” The answer is the task of evangelization. We are not to prevent them from doing good deeds in the name of God, but we are also not to desist from our responsibility for teaching them about who that God they worship actually is…, Jesus Christ.

St. Paul when he was in a greek city found that they had a shrine setup for the “unknonwn god.” He recognized that they did not have the full picture of who God is and used that knowledge to evangelize them about the true nature and name of the one God in heaven. This is our task too, to find those that are following different paths (other lights), and show them the one true light, Jesus Christ.

Because even if they follow those other lights for their entire life, and die in the ignorance of their faith. If they die in friendship and love of God, they will be finally purified in heaven, and Jesus will inform them of their error. If they accept that Jesus Christ is Lord, and convert their heart, mind and soul to christianity, they will be ultimately saved. Jesus said nothing unclean can enter heaven, and so even if you are not a christian in this world, if you want to be with God for eternity, then you will be a christian in heaven.

St James in the last sentence of his letter wrote: “My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” So this too is our task, find good people wherever they are and however they believe, and introduce them to Jesus. Do not prevent them from doing good in Jesus’ name, but use their goodness to bring them out of the darkness of their false faith, and show them to true light of Jesus.

Oh Lord, help me today to bring the light of christ into the heart of someone that does not know you fully in the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.