After Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his whole view of life radically changed. Prior to that meeting, Paul hated Christ, and he expressed that hatred through the brutal oppression of Christians. He wore a cloak of religiosity, and probably even believed the cloak was genuine and that it represented a love for God instead of a hatred for God’s image. His religious zeal for the persecution of the children of God made him an object of fear and dread to the followers of Christ (Acts 9:10-13). But Paul’s conversion after being stricken blind by God on the road to Damascus compelled him to preach Christ in the synagogues. He was good at that, and his strength as a man able to prove that Jesus was the Christ increased considerably. This caused the Jewish leadership to hate him and to seek his murder (Acts 9:19-23).
So Paul tried to join with the church at Jerusalem, but they were understandably afraid of him because they didn’t believe that he was sincere. He was a man without a spiritual home. The Jews wanted to kill him, and the Christians believed that he wanted to arrest and murder them. However, a good man named Barnabas befriended Paul, and intervened on his behalf before the apostles. This intervention led to Paul’s acceptance by the church as a genuine follower of Christ (Acts 9:26-31).
Paul went on to write most of the New Testament, and is responsible for a significant portion of the geographic expansion of Christianity. Paul’s influence across both space and time is profound. The church owes much to his labors. But Paul’s influence exists, in part, because one man befriended an outsider and helped unite him with the rest of the fold.
Barnabas is an example of the consistent thread of community that runs through the bible. There is an expectation for God’s people that we love others, and that we befriend them for the purpose of expanding God’s kingdom among men. This expectation does not limit us to pursue friendships with those who appear safe, but specifically calls us to pursue people who may be alien to our own ways, and perhaps even lowly (Romans 12:14-21). Barnabas recognized the spirit of God on the face of Paul and acted on it. That simple act of Barnabas changed the world. Without a Barnabas, we may not have had a Paul.
Are you looking for simple acts and relationships that might change the world? What might happen in the world if you start sharing the love of God in your community?
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