“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 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.” – Acts 15:37-38
In Christ, people change. They can (and should) grow, mature, and move past their mistakes. During that process, not everyone will see or trust the progress, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. In the past, John Mark had failed Paul and Barnabas, abandoning them in the midst of a mission trip. In Acts 15, Barnabas was ready to give him another chance but Paul wasn’t. Their disagreement was so firm that they concluded they couldn’t work together. Barnabas wasn’t going to go without John Mark. Paul wasn’t going to go with him. They decided to split up and carry the Gospel more places through two teams than they could have with just one.
Who was right in this case? We don’t actually know. The Bible tells us that eventually John Mark and Paul would be reconciled and that Mark would prove himself quite useful to Paul in ministry. But was he ready for that in Acts 15? We simply don’t know. Nonetheless, this story gives us some useful things to think about…
Barnabas was a habitual encourager, an optimist who always saw the best in people as they were growing and changing. He had vouched for Paul when no other Christian trusted him. Barnabas was clearly right to keep believing in John Mark’s ability to grow and mature into a faithful servant of Christ. Eventually this young man would write the Gospel of Mark! On the other hand, Paul had an important task at hand. He needed teammates he could rely on and he just wasn’t there yet with John Mark. He wasn’t necessarily wrong. Sometimes, good Christians simply disagree in their assessment of someone’s present readiness vs. future potential.
Thankfully, Paul and Barnabas knew how to disagree in a way that advanced God’s mission and honored Him. They didn’t seek to crush the other person. They didn’t burn the bridges of their relationship. They just recognized that for the time being they needed to go their separate ways to advance God’s Kingdom. Do you know how to disagree with other Christians in this God-honoring way or do you still disagree in the scorched earth, take no prisoners manner our culture loves?
Do you recognize that in Christ, people can grow and change? Even if you conclude that you can’t work together with someone at the moment, do you keep the doors open to future reconciliation, relationship, and cooperation rooted in the confidence of Christ’s power to transform His people? Do you live in a way meant to encourage that change, believing the best about people’s potential in Christ? #FollowJesus