Day 6: Patient investment
Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus… (Acts 15:39).
Almighty God, You who reign from Your holy dwelling, You are kind and compassionate—a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows (Psalm 68:5). From the beginning of time, You showed Your love for all people, demonstrated in the ultimate sacrifice of Your one and only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to reconcile lost humanity to Yourself (John 3:16).
Dwelling among us, You demonstrated in countless and amazing ways Your heart for the weak, the helpless, the outcast, the discarded, and the forgotten. And for the "lost cause". Mingling with the marginalized, mixing with the maligned, socializing with sinners, seeking and saving the lost, You, Lord Jesus, left no doubt of Your love, grace, patience and forgiveness—beyond measure, beyond comprehension.
You did not just forgive sins and obvious misdeeds, but in Your interactions with Your disciples, You demonstrated grace, mercy, and patience even in their constant lack of comprehension and in their repeated fumbles and failures. Where human capacity would have been exhausted, Your love proved boundless, and You did not abandon any soul as a "lost cause".
This is the example You left us to follow, but often we struggle. Like the early disciples we seek to establish limits on forgiveness—even perceiving generosity in our "up-to-seven-times" rations (Matthew 18:21). But in the life of the apostle Barnabas we are given a practical lesson in following Your example of forgiveness, encouragement, and patient investment.
Barnabas refused to give up on his cousin John Mark who had earlier deserted him and his ministry partner Paul and had not continued with them in the work. As a result, Paul did not think it wise to take [John Mark] as they continued ministry but Barnabas insisted they should. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left (Acts 15:36-40).
But later, Paul was to write to the Colossian believers, “My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me” (Colossians 4:10-11).
Oh God, we are keenly aware that so many times in our own lives, our "write-off" would probably have been justified. Thank you for the Barnabas investments that brought us, like John Mark, to a place of redemption and growth.
May we in turn, be a Barnabas—"Son of Encouragement"—making a difference in a life of faith through loving and patient investment. Because except for Your grace we are all lost causes.
