At the end of Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas begin planning a return to the cities they visited in their first missionary journey together. Paul proposes the trip, and Barnabas agrees–but the agreement ends there. Elder Harter in this message explores the rift that arises between Paul and Barnabas, and finds valuable lessons for us today when we encounter differences of opinion.
A young man named John Mark (later referred to simply as Mark) was the root of contention between these two preachers. Barnabas favored bringing Mark on the return journey to the newly planted Gentile churches. Paul, however, still recalled with hot displeasure how Mark had abruptly abandoned them on the first journey to those same cities. The bible records that “the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.” Both Barnabas and Paul made return journeys to some of the young churches, but took different routes with different companions. Barnabas took Mark via ship to the island of Cyprus; Paul invited Silas to accompany him overland via Syria and through the mountains of Cilicia.
As he studies the working out of this disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, Elder Harter finds three lessons for facing and resolving conflict.
- Seek to understand the perspectives of others
- Be gracious when confronted with differences of opinion and practice, particularly in non-critical areas
- When differences are settled, put them behind you–get over it!
Later in his life, in a letter to the young minister Timothy, Paul demonstrated a much better opinion of Mark, calling him “profitable.” Differences are inevitable in this life, and a generous measure of grace and forgiveness is crucial to us as we journey together.
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