Be a Committed Encourager

KEY VERSE: “Who, when he came, and had seen the grace o f God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the LORD. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the LORD.” —Acts 11:23,24

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Acts 4:32, 36, 37; 9:26, 27; 11:22-30

THE PERSECUTION AND opposition that occurred at the beginning of the Early Church in Judea was so severe that they had to pool all their resources in order to survive. “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32, New International Version) A disciple by the name of Joseph, a Levite living in Cyprus, was a man of wealth, possessing much property. The Lord touched his heart so that he sold all he had and laid the money at the apostles’ feet. As a result of this great act of generosity, the apostles renamed him Barnabas, which means ‘Son of Consolation’.—Acts 4:36,37

Barnabas, although an older man, recognized those whom God had chosen to lead the Early Church, and was obedient to God’s power at work in the apostles. His ability to see and obey God in the operations of the new Christian community inspired others to do likewise. When the Apostle Paul arrived on the scene—newly converted from being a vicious persecutor of the Early Church, to acting as one of the Gospel’s most effective proclaimers—the apostles and all of the church were afraid of him, uncertain of the sincerity of his motives. Only Barnabas made the effort to learn of Paul’s experiences, and brought him to the apostles to have them understand what had happened to Paul.

Luke explains that Barnabas displayed fullness of faith and readiness to do God’s will because he was “full of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 11:24) Others in the Early Church were surely noble, and like Barnabas were deeply affected by the Holy Spirit. Barnabas lived not for himself but for others in the church, making him a respected and mature member. It was no surprise, therefore, that when the successful preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch was reported in Jerusalem, that Barnabas was sent to see if the reports were true. Upon arriving in Antioch and confirming the truth of the information, Barnabas was glad, and “encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” (Acts 11:23, NIV) Barnabas knew that Paul was selected by Jesus to be the apostle to the Gentiles, so he searched out Paul and took him to Antioch where, as elders, “for a whole year Barnabas and Saul [Paul] met with the church and taught great numbers of people.”—vs. 26, NIV

A severe famine in the land led the church at Antioch to send relief to the brethren in Judea by Barnabas and Paul (vss. 29,30), permitting both to report on the progress of the church at Antioch to the apostles. Barnabas is an example to us of discernment, courage, fidelity, imagination, and flexibility. Oh, that we were all sons of consolation and encouragement.

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