Praying Through Acts: Acts 15:36-41 Father, we need you, more than ever, to show us how to work through our disagreements so that fellowship can be maintained. So often we face moments in which both sides feel strongly about the “rightness” of their “conviction” to the exclusion of the other sides “opinion.” We marshal our arguments, we establish credibility, we justify our position on the matter and we refuse to budge or even listen to the other viewpoint. Surely Paul and Barnabas were in this predicament when it came to taking Mark on the next missionary trip. Both felt their reasons and assessments were of equal value. Both refused to concede to the other’s view. Both sadly went their separate ways. The truth, in real ways, was both sides saw it correctly but from different perspectives. Barnabas, like always, saw the need to reestablish a broken relationship and trust that God was able to use a person in spite of his failures and disloyalty! Didn’t he do this for Paul? And wasn’t Paul his protege? Paul, like always, saw the need to reach the Gentile community with no appeals to Jewish scruples and no room for disloyal companions. Mark, perhaps, posed a threat to both and Paul was not willing to take the risk. This sad chapter reminds us all of the vulnerability of Christian community. That even the rightness of something can often bring the wrongness of separation. Yet, even in this, dear Lord, you work your sovereign plan through both! Even when both cannot agree your grace can use both! In the end your righteousness overcomes our “rightness!” Doh! In Jesus name, AMEN!
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:20:53 +0000
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