With Whom Will You Co-Labor?
Mark 7:24–37
At the heart of Genesis 1–2 is this truth: humans were designed to co-labor with God. Adam and Eve were commissioned to cultivate creation, to spread God’s rule and reign on earth as image-bearers of the Creator. But by Genesis 3, we see a rival voice enter the story. Satan, a created yet rebellious being, longed for God’s throne. He had no power to rule, so he sought to rule through deception—by luring humans to co-labor with him instead of with God.
That’s still the enemy’s strategy today. Every day, in ways big and small, we are faced with this question: will we co-labor with the one true, eternal Creator, or with Satan in his rebellion? And the kicker for this dilemma is this: taking offense.
Mark 7:24–37 gives us a picture of how that choice plays out. Jesus enters Gentile territory, and two people respond to him in strikingly humble ways. A Gentile woman begs him to heal her daughter. Jesus tests her with words that could have easily offended. Most would have walked away. But she doesn’t. She persists, believing only he can save. Her daughter is healed. Then Jesus heals a deaf man in a very earthy, even awkward way—touching ears and tongue, spitting, groaning. Again, no offense taken. The man submits, and his ears are opened, his tongue loosed.
Two people, who were considered ‘enemies’ of God and his people, refuse to be offended by Jesus, and both walk away healed.
This matters because Jesus is, by nature, offensive. Doubly offensive.
- He offends the religious with his radical hospitality: everyone’s welcome.
- He offends the world with his high standard of discipleship: nobody’s perfect, therefore, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.
- He offends the religious with his inclusivity: he loved the worst of sinners.
- He offends the world with his exclusivity: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus calls sinners to repent. The religious were offended he called them sinners. The world is offended he calls them to repent.
As Pastor Kevin said, “if Jesus never offends you, you might not be following the real Jesus.”
But here’s the danger: when we’re offended, we’re vulnerable. Social media algorithms thrive on offense, curating echo chambers that inflame division. Just think about it: a husband and wife can sit in the same living room, scroll the same app, and live in two different realities. Parents and kids can watch the same news event unfold and draw polar opposite conclusions because of what their feeds show them. The Charlie Kirk situation lights up one side of your feed as heroic and the other as hateful. Wars rage across the globe, and depending on your algorithm, you’re told who the villain is and who the victim is. Don’t you see it for what it is? The enemy is weaponizing our digital diets to tear families, churches, and communities apart.
That’s been Satan’s playbook from the start. In Eden, he went after Eve, who became complicit in his schemes. Adam’s silence made him a co-laborer with Satan. They immediately pointed fingers, blamed each other, blamed God and satan sat back and laughed while he watched it all play out. Division, complacency, and offense have been his tools ever since.
God’s people were always meant to be a counter-cultural community that lived differently and were not ignorant of the schemes of the evil one. The sad part of all this is that this is playing out with the church in equal, if not more, fervor. When we stir up division in the church, refuse correction, or let bitterness fester, we are not neutral—we are helping Satan tear apart what Jesus is washing and preparing as his spotless bride.
So what does it look like to co-labor with Christ instead? It begins with recognizing my own need for the gospel. Before pointing fingers, I see my own sin and my desperate need for grace. Division is not just a disagreement—it’s a plan of God’s enemies to thwart his purposes. To resist, we must pursue truth in love. You can’t have one without the other. Truth without love hardens. Love without truth deceives. But truth in love builds up.
And when others want to continue fueling division, what do we do? We refuse to add kindling to the fire. We pray for them. We love our enemies. But we don’t join them in sowing discord. Instead, we patiently, humbly call people to repentance and faith, all while staying open to correction ourselves—because none of us are fully sanctified yet. Letting the biblical narrative—the voice of the Lord himself—speak into these situations is our only hope. It is the story of reconciliation, of truth, of love. Every other “story” coming through our feed is a rival voice, trying to pull us away from the unity Christ died to secure.
The choice is clear: will you co-labor with the one who came to make all things new, or with the one who schemes to tear the church apart? The woman and the man in Mark 7 refused to be offended by Jesus and walked away healed. That same invitation is before us.
One day soon, the Bride of Christ will be presented spotless at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Until then, every word we speak and every post we share will either help wash and build up the Bride—or help Satan divide her.
With whom will you co-labor?