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October 10, 2012
"Parting May Be the Right Course"
Scripture Reading:
Acts 15:38-39 (HCSB) But Paul did not think it appropriate to take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work.
There was such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus.
Acts 15:38-39 (HCSB) But Paul did not think it appropriate to take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work.
There was such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus.
Devotional Reading:
I would have loved to be on a mission trip with the apostle Paul. It seems to me you would be hard-pressed to find a more driven, intense “missionary” in the entire Bible than Paul. He seems to have worked tirelessly through very long days and he seems to have pushed himself and his fellow laborers to extremes. Being on mission with Paul would not be for the faint-hearted. So, just between you and me, I don’t blame young John Mark one bit for bailing on Paul in Pamphylia, especially if he couldn't handle it. I am sure that young man felt utterly overwhelmed by it all. But oh what I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall during that later conflict between the two teachers, Paul & Barnabas, over this very incident. Paul would have argued vehemently that the preaching ministry is no place for quitters and that he had no time to be babysitting when he could be out teaching. He would have pointed out that John Mark literally left them holding the bag when he quit on them in the middle of that last journey. Barnabas, ever the encourager, would have argued that everyone deserves a second chance (and he may have even asked Paul if he wasn’t glad that Barnabas himself was the one who gave Paul his second chance at teaching–oh, the irony of this conflict!). Barnabas would have asked how in the world John Mark would ever grow in his spiritual walk as a leader if someone were not willing to come along side him and mentor him. Of course, neither Paul nor Barnabas could have known that this young man would eventually write an entire gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Keep the Son in your eyes,
I would have loved to be on a mission trip with the apostle Paul. It seems to me you would be hard-pressed to find a more driven, intense “missionary” in the entire Bible than Paul. He seems to have worked tirelessly through very long days and he seems to have pushed himself and his fellow laborers to extremes. Being on mission with Paul would not be for the faint-hearted. So, just between you and me, I don’t blame young John Mark one bit for bailing on Paul in Pamphylia, especially if he couldn't handle it. I am sure that young man felt utterly overwhelmed by it all. But oh what I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall during that later conflict between the two teachers, Paul & Barnabas, over this very incident. Paul would have argued vehemently that the preaching ministry is no place for quitters and that he had no time to be babysitting when he could be out teaching. He would have pointed out that John Mark literally left them holding the bag when he quit on them in the middle of that last journey. Barnabas, ever the encourager, would have argued that everyone deserves a second chance (and he may have even asked Paul if he wasn’t glad that Barnabas himself was the one who gave Paul his second chance at teaching–oh, the irony of this conflict!). Barnabas would have asked how in the world John Mark would ever grow in his spiritual walk as a leader if someone were not willing to come along side him and mentor him. Of course, neither Paul nor Barnabas could have known that this young man would eventually write an entire gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
While
we do not know all the specifics of what Paul said or what Barnabas
said through this “sharp disagreement”, we can at least pull some
eternal truths out of it for our own application: The
results of this split by Paul and Barnabas changed the world. God
brought about some amazing things as a result of it. New churches were
started, many more lives were impacted, and a gospel was written. I am
sure we cannot even begin to fathom all the ways God used this split to
accomplish His will. While I would be very careful about using this
example as an easy excuse to run from conflict in your own life, I do
believe there is a time and a circumstance when parting and going our
separate ways just makes sense and honors God. I have
seen churches completely paralyzed by conflict. Individuals as well.
It can have that effect on us. We can try and try and try to reconcile
our differences and examine ourselves and each other and work to find
common ground, but there is a point where we must look at all the
ministry we are foregoing in order to do that…we must count the
opportunity costs we are paying in order to try to find some common
ground. At some point we may end up realizing that, for now, there does
not seem to be any common ground and there is much ministry out there
to accomplish and what we must do is split up and get back to work.
There
is evidence to indicate that Paul and Barnabas eventually reconciled
and came together on the topic of John Mark. Very late in his ministry,
from prison, Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” 2
Timothy 4:11. It seems that a reconciliation did eventually take
place. Perhaps they just needed time to gain perspective, or time to
grow, or time for John Mark to grow, or some other time-based reason.
The point is, when the right time finally came along, so did
reconciliation, because reconciliation has much to do with timing. That
is an eternal truth. So, again, I would be careful about pointing to
Paul and Barnabas as an easy excuse for your desire to just run from
your conflict. Nevertheless, there is a right time and right
circumstances for parting and going our separate ways. May God grant
you the wisdom to recognize it!
Keep the Son in your eyes,
Pastor Ben J Lahay
Galatians 2:20
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