Acts 9.27 But
Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his
journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in
Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. – St. Luke
It was an uneasy time for the new Church – the pushback
from the Jews was reaching new highs (or lows), and now Saul of Tarsus, the tyrant
of the Temple, was roaming freely, claiming to be a disciple of Jesus. “Not so fast my friend, prove to me you’re
who you say you are!” Saul was viewed with huge suspicion.
But Barnabas… (V.
12, I kinda quit reading right here…)
Barnabas wasn’t your run-of-the-mill guy; Barnabas was a risk-taker, and took
his faith seriously. Barnabas was an encourager and seemed to be able to take
people at face value much like an artist looks at a blank canvas: he saw potential.
Now Barnabas was probably well aware of Saul’s antics but
when he heard of Saul’s conversion he said to himself: Thank You God for answering our prayers! I’m going to be the first one
to invite Saul in… That took a risk; Saul hadn’t yet proven himself. But
Saul convinced Barnabas, and God showed Barnabas the truth: Saul is My guy.
Have you ever met someone new at church? Have you
developed a relationship with them and become friends? Jesus said in Matthew 25:
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave
me something to drink, I was a stranger
and you invited me in… (V. 35) There is something about taking people at
face value and inviting them into your life – that’s what I think it means to invite them in. It gives them a
starting point. It gives them a safety net. It gives them an ‘in’.
It doesn’t surprise me that the Scripture says, “But Barnabas…” From what we know of him,
we probably shouldn’t expect anything less. It also solves the riddle of John
Mark in Acts 15: Barnabas wanted to give John Mark (the offender) a second
chance but Paul (the accepted) refused to give ground.
The account goes: “…but
Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in
Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.” Valid reason. But Barnabas, the encourager,
was like: “Oh, c’mon Paul! Give the guy
another chance. After all, I gave you one!” It says their disagreement was
so sharp that they parted company. Hmmm, conflict in the church… Paul went off
with Silas, and Barnabas took John Mark with him. Paul apparently had
forgotten, but Barnabas…
Paul eventually remembered Mark: “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my
ministry…” Same Mark, years later.
Encouragement is a much needed virtue in the church and
in the relationships we have with people around us. We need both, to learn how
to encourage, and how to be encouraged. If anyone in Scripture knew about
encouragement – it was the guy whose nickname
was, “Son of Encouragement.”
Father, use me to
encourage others and to give people the benefit of the doubt. We all need You
and we all need each other. May we all be better at both! Amen
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