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Acts 4:36-37
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles
called Barnabas (which means Son of
Encouragement), sold a field he owned and
brought the money and put it at the apostles'
feet.
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August 13
Gift of Encouragement
People have lots of
nicknames. A lot have funny stories behind
them while some are descriptive of a person's
personality. Barnabas could not have been
called a more appropriate nickname.
Barnabas was the type of
person who saw good in everyone and wanted to
encourage them. He took Paul under his
wing while the rest of the Christians were still
scared of him because of putting so many to
death prior to his conversion.
Later it was Barnabas who
wouldn't give up on Mark even though he had
deserted him and Paul on a previous journey.
Paul wouldn't take Mark again and Barnabas
wouldn't give up on him. In the end Paul
recognized Mark's value and asked the Mark come
to him as he sat in prison.
We all need a Barnabas in our
life. People with the gift of
encouragement will keep our spirits up even when
nothing seems to go right. They will stick
by us when everyone else has lost hope and given
up.
Thank God for the Barnabas's
in our lives because He places them there to
lift us up just when we need it most. |
