Be a Barnabas

I have decided to occasionally post some old devotionals I wrote several years ago for an e-mail newsletter I used to write. I was president of our Sunday School class, and wrote this newsletter to help us stay connected and informed, and always included a devotional at the end. They began to be forwarded to people outside the class -- even outside the state -- and at its zenith there were several hundred "subscribers." It was fun to write, but when I finally got someone to replace me as president, I gave up the responsibility for the newsletter.

Anyway, some of them referred to very specific times and situations that "date" them, and where I can I'll be tweaking to make them less so, but not always.

I had thought at one time to rework them all for possible publication in a sort of chapbook. Maybe putting them out there again will get that fire under my butt again.

Without further explanation, then, here's the first of these.

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I Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."

Raised up Presbyterian and having chosen Methodism as a teenager, somehow I missed learning about some of the minor characters and offbeat stories in the Bible. I guess they got lost somewhere between Catechism and “Kumbayah.”

Husband Henry, however, cut his theological teeth on Sword Drills at the Providence Baptist Church in Shelby County, Alabama, so he has a real edge over me in this one area, a source of much irritation when we'd be studying our Disciple Bible Lessons. Frequently, I’d mutter something like, “I never knew that” and he’d counter with some smug commentary that would leave me feeling like I was sitting front and center at the Inquisition. It’s was sort of like discovering a quarter carat diamond and showing it off to Louis Tiffany.

One of the “gems” I came to know during our Study was Paul’s friend Barnabas. He shows up in several places at precisely the right moment and helps turn the tide of Christianity in the right direction with what must have been well-chosen (but sadly unrecorded) words.

The first time is when Saul, fresh from his conversion on the road to Damascus and on fire for Christ, shows up to volunteer for service with the Disciples. Well, they’d have none of it – Saul’s reputation as a bounty hunter for Christ’s followers had gotten there ahead of him. Barnabas, seeing something they obviously couldn’t in Saul’s fresh set of eyes, persuaded them that this fellow deserved a spot among them, and so Saul became Paul, and the church grew wings.

Down the road, after a series of mighty successful camp meetings, Paul sent one of the younger junior assistants packing. Poor John Mark. Apparently, he had weaseled out of a trip for reasons we really don’t understand (homesick, scared, bored?), and at the outset of one more ambitious trip, Paul kicked him off the team.

But there’s Barnabas again, gently wiping the egg off John Mark’s face, and taking him under his wing. There was some sacrifice here on Barnabas’ part since he didn’t get to stay up in the big leagues with Paul, but you get a sense that John Mark’s fledgling faith meant more to him than the conversion of whole cities. As it turns out, way on down the line Paul asks for what he now knows to be a mature John Mark to join him, calling him “helpful in my ministry.” Old wounds are healed; a soul that could have been lost to bitterness becomes a devoted, committed companion.

Barnabas’ gift of encouragement caused him to look beyond a person’s reputation, and helped change the course of history. His ability to put aside self-interest in order to advance the cause of Christ surely placed him outside the limelight, but a good argument can be made that it was on his shoulders the church was built.

Can you imagine the difference we might make in the world if we made it a point to be an encourager to someone whose history is littered with mistakes, or to a person who has failed? Someone you know needs a word of encouragement today – so go be a Barnabas!