Devotion 28 August 2026

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had."

Romans 15:5 

READING: Acts 15: 36-41

In the early days of the Church, we see that the leaders had their problems with people letting them down. Young John Mark had walked away from his work with Paul and gone back to Jerusalem. We do not know the full details of why this happened, just that Mark failed to measure up to Paul’s standards. So Paul felt he could not trust Mark sufficiently to include him in his travels and his work. Sometimes a person needs to learn that there are consequences that follow actions, and it was Paul’s task to reveal that to the young man. They were obviously later reconciled, because, when Paul was in prison in Rome, he asked that Mark be sent to help him (2 Timothy 4:11).

Barnabas, however, chose to support Mark, his relative (Colossians 4:10). The early church had met in John Mark’s mother's home in Jerusalem (Acts 12), so his background was solidly Christian, but he was young. Barnabas probably recognised Mark’s potential and wanted to give him a chance to redeem himself.

Although we are told by the writer of Acts that Paul and Barnabas had a “sharp disagreement”, followed by each agreeing to go his separate way, we also see that neither was deterred from his mission, to work for God’s kingdom. And in the end, perhaps we can be bold enough to say that God’s will was done. It is almost certain that the writer of the Gospel of Mark was that very John Mark, matured by both the firmness of Paul and the encouragement and forgiveness of Barbabas to be enabled to write the treasure that is Mark’s Gospel.

When we are let down by people we have trusted, we can only depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us in our reactions. Whether firmness or encouragement is called for, both must always be accompanied by Christian love, and a strong assertion that redemption is always possible.

Prayer

Almighty God, when we are faced with difficulty, grant us Your wisdom; when faced with disappointment, grant us Your hopefulness; may we be a beacon of encouragement to all those we encounter this week. We pray in the name of Your Son, who gave His life for us all. Amen