“For whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40)

This saying has a similar effect to the phrase “Whoever is not with me is against me” in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 12:30). To follow Jesus’ standard is to live according to the spirit of the Gospel. Jesus wished that His disciples understand everyone has the right to share in God’s grace, because all of us are children of the Father.

In the early days of the Church, there were groups that received the graces of the Holy Spirit long before being baptized to join the Church’s family.

What Jesus deemed important is the quality and direction of our life, such that our particular denomination or religion may never become major obstacles for us.

We can rewrite the common saying that “people of different ways have no common dialog” into “even though ways are different, dialog is possible”. When we accept others with an open heart, the seeds of love have already entered into their hearts.