A Good Man

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

A GOOD MAN

Acts 11:25-26

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

NIV

Here we look into another aspect of the character of Barnabas. We already know that he is a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. We already know he was glad and encouraged the believers in Antioch to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. We already know that because of him a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Now we see the selflessness of this man Barnabas. We remember that after Saul had his conversion experience in Damascus and went to Jerusalem to join the disciples and how they were afraid of him. We remember it was Barnabas who took Saul to the Apostles and spoke on his behalf, telling the Apostles of how Saul was converted. Barnabas surely kept watch over Saul and saw how he preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So when Barnabas was among so many coming to Jesus, he knew he needed help, help from a man who could preach fearlessly. Barnabas could have taken the opportunity to be the main man, the big shot of Antioch, the man of the hour, the one who started one of the biggest churches in the area. But he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. He wanted to share this experience with Saul bringing him back to Antioch so they could both teach great numbers of people. Barnabas must have been a very good man, humble, selfless and simply looking for the best way to encourage and strengthen the believers in Antioch. He must have only had the interest of others in his thoughts. When he could have been the main person, he brought Saul to join him in the ministry at Antioch. We could learn a lesson here about being humble and not seeking any glory or acknowledgment. We could learn to see the strengths and gifts of others, bringing them along to share the work of the Lord, being willing for them to be of great use to the Lord. If we are always thinking about our ministry, our gifts, our strengths then we certainly are not like Barnabas, a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, but we are like a selfish child only concerned about having our way. Although we always say we want to be more like Jesus, it might also do us well to be a bit more like Barnabas as well. Jesus is God, but Barnabas was just a man, a good man.