Read: Acts 11:19-26
[Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. (v. 24)
Apart from Jesus, who in the Bible would you most like to emulate? There are so many to choose from: Abraham’s willing spirit, or Mary’s obedience, John’s capacity to see forward. The list goes on and on. For me it would be Barnabas.
We are told expressly that he was “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (v. 24), and when Barnabas came to Antioch and “saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord” (v. 23). Beyond that, when he saw that he needed help for the work, he sent for Paul to come and join. His supportive character was so remarkable that the other disciples nicknamed him “son of encouragement.” (Acts 4:36)
The capacity to encourage others is a priceless capacity in any age and in any place. To encourage quite literally means to “come alongside and call out to another.” In the ancient Olympic Games, marathon runners were allowed to have a pacesetter as they finished their race before the emperor—that pacesetter was called “an encourager,” just like Barnabas. We can be encouragers whenever we come alongside someone who is struggling, when we visit the bereaved or take a meal to a struggling family or send a card to a person in need. There are an infinite number of ways to be an encourager. The critical thing is simple: to do it!
As you pray, ask God to help you to be an encourager like Barnabas.
Dr. Timothy Brown is the Henry Bast Professor of Preaching and President Emeritus at Western Theological Seminary where he served from 1995-2021. Tim continues to actively coach and encourage former students and pastors who seek help in their preaching life and he has become a certified public school substitute teacher so that he can continue investing in the lives of young people. He is married to Nancy and together they have three children and ten grandchildren.
