Connections That Carry the Light Touch of God

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Acts 11:19-26

Bang.  Frieda popped into my head.  Why would that be?  Sometimes a particular person will just pop into your head.  Have you had this happen to you?   You might know why, or maybe you have no idea at that moment why you are thinking about that person.

Something like this happens to Barnabas when he was sent to Antioch to investigate some rumors.  What was happening there?  Why were these Jewish Christians having interactions with Greek speaking people and how is it that these Greeks were receiving Jesus?  Barnabas was amazed at what he saw.  It warmed his heart and inspired his spirit to see that the faith of these new Greek Christians we bright, alive and Spirit filled.  How could this be?  What was God doing and who would know how to engage this new possibility?

What he saw, warmed his spirit and engaged his mind… and he thought of Saul, well Paul actually.  Some years earlier Saul of Tarsus have been converted to faith in Christ after he had previously persecuted Jewish Christians.  But his first months of Christian life and faith had gotten him into more debates, scrabbles and augments than any of these young Christians were comfortable with.  So, he was invited to return home to Tarsus.

But Barnabas remembers Saul, who had become “Paul” in his conversion.  He remembered how insightful and passionate Paul’s was.  Barnabas remembered that Paul grew up in a Greek speaking community and understood these Gentiles as well as the Christian faith.  He might be a perfect fit to encourage this new community in faith.What he saw, warmed his spirit and engaged his mind… and he thought of Saul, well Paul actually.  Some years earlier Saul of Tarsus have been converted to faith in Christ after he had previously persecuted Jewish Christians.  But his first months of Christian life and faith had gotten him into more debates, scrabbles and augments than any of these young Christians were comfortable with.  So, he was invited to return home to Tarsus.

God as a way of making use of each of our unique gifts, experiences and abilities, even when they seem to not be valued or needed at one time or another.  It is always our work to find the places where God will use us to make a difference in the lives of others.  Barnabas played his role and helped Paul find his.

God is still doing wonders among us like this, building community and shaping our lives to care for people we come to meet and know.  It is a curious wonder how God works in our lives filled with great graciousness.  This work we do of finding our neighbors along the journey of faith can indeed be godly work, filled with the activity of Christ among us.

Just as my heart is thankful for Barnabas and Paul, so I pray for this time and our gifts that we might be alive in the Spirit and attentive to God’s activity within us and around us.  This is the Graciousness of God at work.  AMEN.

–Pastor Mitch Watney