By His Word
“… he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” — Acts 11:23 (NIV)
I wonder what Barnabas expected to find when he reached Antioch. Word had come to Jerusalem that people there were turning to the Lord, and the church sent him to see what was happening. The story had begun with a terrible loss. Stephen had been killed, and persecution had driven believers from their homes. Some traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, carrying the good news of Jesus with them. At first, they spoke among their fellow Jews. Then believers from Cyprus and Cyrene began sharing the message with Greek-speaking people outside that familiar circle. Luke gives us the names of the places they came from and leaves the messengers themselves unnamed. What he wants us to see is that the Lord was with them and that many believed. I take some comfort in that detail. You may never know what comes of the Scripture you share at a kitchen table or the conversation you have with a neighbor who asks why you still pray. Luke’s account gives us reason to trust God with what happens after we speak.
When Barnabas arrived, he saw what the grace of God had done, and it made him glad. I keep coming back to that little word glad. Have you ever watched someone else reach a person you had been trying to reach for years? You prayed for a grandson, tried to find the right words, and wondered whether any of it had stayed with him. Then a friend invites him to read the Gospel of Mark, and suddenly he has questions he wants to talk about. There can be a moment when you have to decide what to do with the small sting of wishing he had asked you first. Barnabas shows me what to do with that moment. When God answers a prayer through someone else, we can take joy in the answer and encourage what has begun. We have seen Barnabas make room for someone before. In Acts 9, when the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of Saul, Barnabas took him to the apostles and told them what had happened to him. Later, seeing what was happening in Antioch, Barnabas went looking for that same man to help teach the growing church.
Barnabas knew these new believers needed someone to help them take the next step. Luke describes his appeal with the Greek phrase tē prothesei tēs kardias, which carries the sense of a settled purpose of heart. The verb prosmenein means to stay with or continue with someone. Put together, the words describe a deliberate resolve to stay close to the Lord. What might that sound like in an ordinary conversation? Suppose a coworker tells you she has started praying again but feels awkward because it has been years. You might say, “Tell Him what you just told me. Then tomorrow, make a little room to talk with Him again.” A week later, you might remember to ask how she is doing. That second conversation matters. It tells her that you heard her and are willing to walk with her as she finds her footing. Give your attention to the way Barnabas welcomed God’s work in people the Jerusalem church who had little reason to expect.
Acts 11:19–26 shows what it looks like to recognize God’s grace in someone else. Barnabas saw people turning to Jesus, took joy in their faith, and helped them grow through encouragement and teaching. When I read this passage, I think of people whose first steps are easy to overlook. A teenager asks a sincere question in the middle of an awkward conversation. A man you’ve known for years says he finally called his brother to ask forgiveness. Someone who has been away from church for a long time slips in and sits near the door. You can listen to the question, thank God for the phone call, or make a little room beside you. Sometimes the best encouragement we can give is to notice a small step toward Christ and make it easier for someone to take the next one.
Before you make a choice about someone today, ask the Holy Spirit to help you put the wisdom of Acts 11 into practice. If you see a step toward Christ that you might ordinarily pass over, tell that person what encouraged you and offer a word from Scripture that can help them keep going.
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