Pondering His Holy Word

​Act’s 15:36-41
And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (ACTS 15:36-41).

Paul and Barnabas sharp disagreement about John Mark stems from John Mark leaving the mission. He joins as an assistant to Paul and Barnabas. We know that John Mark wss a witness to the Holy Spirit, as Paul blinded Elymas after the so-called magician tries to dissuade the proconsul or the governor from the faith (ACT 13:4-12). As Paul and Barnabas continue to spread the Gospel undoubtedly, John Mark would have witnessed miracles. Yet when they arrived in Pamphylia, John Mark left back to Jerusalem. He quit. So it’s easy to see why Paul was annoyed because he felt that he quitted something as important as spreading the Gospel. But, why was Barnabas so willing to allow John Mark to return? Well, they were related. John Paul was his nephew. Understandably, Barnabas had a soft spot for him. Yet, Paul was adamant about not bringing John Mark because he abandoned the mission.
       On the other hand, Barnabas was adamant about giving John Mark another chance. Neither side was willing to concede or compromise. It’s easy to see how this can become very contentious. No one likes a quitter, and no one likes someone denigrating their relative. After a while, they went their separate ways.
      We live in a world where contention is evident everywhere. In politics, we have some liberals, some conservatives, some independent, some others, and etcetera. Often, I watch news coverage about the U.S elections and elections around the world. You can’t watch the news without hearing the contentions between different factions with their many interests. It not only permeates our politics but social and entertainment as well. Humans have been contending with each other since Adam blamed Eve for giving him the forbidden fruit. Then later, their child, Cain, shed the blood of his own brother, Abel.
       I’m no exception. Even in my own life, conflict can brew. Most of the time, it is the result of being either impatient or hardheaded. I’m thankful I have a patient wife. Yet, like every married couple, she and I have our conflicts about our various perspectives. Sometimes, one of us is able to persuade the other, sometimes we compromise, yet other times we agree to disagree. In those cases, we let time past and reflect each other’s viewpoint. Usually, after time past, one or both of us soften our perspective, and still, we may not agree, but we respect the other person’s perspective.
       Conflict is rarely straightforward. Seldom there is a “bad side” or “good side.” Of course, there are times when that is the case where Good is fighting Evil, especially in the world we are living in,  However, in our personal lives, that is not always the case. Yet, God uses conflict for his own glory. It’s unfortunate that Paul and Barnabas became so contentious that they went their separate ways, but Barnabas ultimately brings John Mark with him, and Paul brings Silas with him. Both teams split up to spread the Gospel. The Great Commission did not suffer; in fact, it grew. Paul was able to go back and strengthen the churches in Syria and Cilicia while Barnabas went to Cyprus to spread the Gospel. So the Church grew. God used their conflict for His glory.
       Does this mean that we should be contentious and disagreeable with everyone under the pretense of the glory of God? No, but I am saying that we need to know when to let the Holy Spirit do His work. We need to understand that because of man’s fallen-ness, we will not agree on everything. Paul and Barnabas both could have quit at that point. Both men could have justified doing that. When we argue, we always feel justified. Yet, both men were dedicated to the Great Commission and obedient to God that they went their separate ways to spread the Gospel instead of arguing with each other about being right.
     In our case, we still have a job to do. I think about the past few elections where the opponents thanked the other opponent and congratulated each other. Nowadays, political opponents can even look at each other, let alone be in the same room.  As a result, nothing gets done. We get stuck with being right until we are wrong.
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, gave us a job to do. To go out and make disciples of those from all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Not to be stuck in our own righteousness because none of us are righteous. We all fall short. As Paul quotes King David says, “No one does good not even one” (Psalms 14:3). We all stand condemned before God but only for the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. So why are we contentious about disputes that are not relevant to the Great Commission?
       God gave us gifts not to be prideful and be right, but to do his will. So why would we disagree over something that is not important? Walk away! Continue working. Let the Lord sort it out. He definitely did it in Paul and Barnabas’ case. After a while, Paul came to respect John Mark. In his last letter before he was executed, he told Timothy that John Mark was profitable to him for the mission. That’s real humbleness there to admit that someone who you believe abandoned the mission is profitable. And John Mark was profitable. He established the Church in Alexandria. He wrote of Peter’s account of his life with Jesus, which would become the Gospel According to Mark. He was profitable. Paul and Barnabas disagreed, but God used it for His glory. Is he not good? Thankfully they didn’t leave the faith because of that disagreement. Thank God Barnabas had a soft spot for John Mark, or we wouldn’t have the second Gospel. Thank God Paul took Silas because they both help strengthen the church.
      So what does that have to do with us in a world with so much separation and disagreement? Well, we have a job to do. God gave us a gift, and it is to be used for the Great Commission, and He expects us to do it. We don’t have to agree about things related to man. We don’t have to agree about somethings related to this world. Yet even with disagreement, we have a job to do.  God will use our conflicts for His own glory, just like He did with Paul and Barnabas. We may think somebody is terrible, but what we say doesn’t matter. If God says it is good, then it is good. So we don’t have to agree on worldly things. We agree on the Kingdom. We agree with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We agree that His death and resurrection save us from the rightful wrath of God. We agree that we are justified by faith. Outside of that, our petty disagreements mean nothing.