11:22 "Then news
of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out
Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of
God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should
continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and
of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas
departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him
to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and
taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in
Antioch."
Barnabas is not a popular figure. If he were a sports figure
he would be that guy that every team wants yet is rarely or never in the
spotlight.
My mom loved Gaither videos. I think she bought every one
they ever made. Bill Gaither is the most prolific Christian song writer of our
time. However that is not his greatest gift. One of the members of his famous
Gaither quartet said this about him "He spends all his time making
everyone else look good." Gaither gathers talent from all over and creates
these videos featuring everyone but himself.
Barnabas was like Gaither. He had the gift of unifying
people. He had the gift of seeing and developing the best in people. The church
in Jerusalem sent him to Antioch because Greeks were becoming followers of
Jesus and they knew it had the potentially to be messy, complicated, and
problematic. They knew if anyone could smooth the waters and strengthen the
situation it was Barnabas. He went. He served. He taught. He encouraged. Then
he did something leaders rarely do. He recognized there was someone better for
the job and he went recruiting. He traveled likely at his own expense the roughly
250km from Antioch to Tarsus and found Saul and brought him back to Antioch.
Something special was happening in Antioch and Barnabas could have been tempted
to "be the man" and take the glory and attention for himself but
Barnabas was nothing like that. He saw gifts in Saul that were needed in
Antioch and he went and found him. So mighty was the influence of Saul in
Antioch that the city will forever be known as the first place that these new
followers of Jesus were called Christians.
In every church I have served there has always been at least
one Barnabas. Men and women who get few if any applause. Men and women who
aren't even recognized by many for the key role they play. Men and women who
send their energies developing others and putting their gifts to use for God's
glory.
Every light that shines has a whole system connected to it
that makes it possible. People like Barnabas may rarely make the headlines but
there are no headlines without them. Barnabas must have been paying attention
when Jesus highlighted the importance of being a servant to all.
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