“Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.” Philemon 1:23-24
Take # 2 – God expects us to give grace to others as often as needed.
Yesterday, I talked about the huge disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. Take # 1 was how both parties can be both right – and wrong.
Take # 2 on the sermon I heard was that, despite INTENSE disagreement, there was a lot of grace given on both sides of the argument.
On Paul’s side, he kept his relationship with Barnabas intact, even though they fiercely disagreed. Paul didn’t let a difference of opinion keep him from loving Barnabas and keeping in contact with him.
Not only did Paul give a lot of grace to Barnabas, but Paul also gave much grace to John Mark, even though he knew he was a screw up. If you read in later scriptures, Paul is clearly in touch with John Mark AND relies on him in his ministry. Paul went from dismissing John Mark as a total flake to leaning on him and trusting him to help with his ministry in much needed ways.
On Barnabas’ side, he allowed the relationship with Paul to remain intact. He could have said “You are wrong and I’m never talking with you again!”. But, to the best of our knowledge, he didn’t. He kept a valued relationship even when they disagreed.
Barnabas also gave a lot of grace to John Mark. He knew that John Mark screwed up, but he was willing to give him another chance to grow, learn and become a help to Paul’s ministry instead of a burden.
How often do we need that same kind of grace as we stumble through life?
God asks us to give grace as often as needed. He did that for us. We can do that for others.