The Steadfast Heart

Every Monday night growing up, my dad would take me out to Panera for dinner. We had this routine where he would wait on our food and I would get water for us in those tiny, clear plastic cups. I would carefully select the freshest lemon slice for my dad’s cup and fill both halfway with ice before finding a table. Being able to find an empty booth at 5:30pm always felt special, but beyond than that, I had the undivided attention of my dad.

Have you ever met someone who can ask really great questions? Questions that make you think out loud as you try to answer them the way you want to the first time without taking too long? My dad asks fun questions like that. Sometimes when I try to pull a memory, I can’t pin down how old I was at the time because in a sense to me, I’ll always feel like a little girl and my dad never ages. But on one of those Monday nights, my dad asked me who my favorite character in the Bible was at the time and I remember telling him that it was Joseph from Genesis.

After I had finished answering his follow up questions on, “Why Joseph?” it occurred to me to inquire about who his favorite Bible character was and why. In the years to follow, I have recalled this conversation to mind dozens of times and the older I get, the more I understand and relate to his answer. I remember a learning light turning on in my brain as my dad spoke on a character I had never heard of before. At my age, I had been taught about the main characters like Noah and Moses, David and Solomon, the 12 Disciples, Paul, of course, and women like Mary, the mother of Jesus.

But I had never remembered hearing of Barnabas. Once I got home and was able to put my finger on the very text my dad taught me about, I’ve never once forgotten Barnabas and here is why:

• Barnabas’s real name was Joseph, but he made such an impact on people that the apostles called him Barnabas which was means “son of encouragement.” He was known for his generosity (Acts 4:36-37).
• He was one of the first accepting people of Saul (who was to become known as Paul) and was able to advocate on his behalf to the apostles. Barnabas used his influence to unite people in Jesus’s name (Acts 9:27).
• People called on Barnabas when they needed to be encouraged. Barnabas also sought out people to encourage and spent dedicated time meeting with others over the period of a year (Acts 11:22, 25-26). Because he got to know the people he spent time with, he was also able to challenge others in their spiritual growth effectively (Acts 14:3, 14-15).

When I read about his life, there is a part of me that wants Barnabas to take on more of a starring role in the story. When others defiantly hid their tithes and offerings, Barnabas was finding ways to give all that he had to the Church. When no one wanted to accept Saul into the apostles’ circle out of fear, Barnabas rallied support for him with his minority vote. When everyone needed encouraged, Barnabas helped set the tone. He was ridiculed, thrown out of places, abandoned by someone he invested real time in, his counsel was ignored, and I have to imagine that there were many times when the son of encouragement felt discouraged.

I want to know that a noble life like his gets more air time, more applause, and more appreciation on earth for going against the grain than what I read throughout the New Testament, but perhaps this very thought is where I miss the point. Barnabas knew that there was more. He understood his role and his purpose to simply give of himself with this tithes and his time.

What I gather from the text and what inspires me about Barnabas was that we often see him paired with someone else. He discipled while he encouraged others. He found strength in numbers by joining with Paul while he challenged the early Christians. He didn’t isolate himself and took joy in getting to invest in people. Acts 11 says, “for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.” I love the last “and” right there. Because Barnabas lived by and through the Holy Spirit, we get the part where people came to Christ as a result!

I want that. I want to live a life that is so tempered by the Holy Spirit and the way that I obey His whispers in my life that people come to know Jesus as a result of our proximity. Barnabas held that influence through the way encouraged and advocated for people, and through his selfless generosity. He took the spotlight off himself time and time again. As he served as an advocate, the early believers were able to know the true Advocate, the Holy Spirit.

I am so grateful for the Bible. I am so grateful to find encouragement in this book when life seems confusing and I crave all of the credit. I love that Barnabas modeled a life that tells me that I too, can do this with Jesus.
And so. can. you.

Take care & take heart,
Natalie