WHEN LOVE REIGNS, ENCOURAGEMENT ABOUNDS
An elderly widow, restricted in her activities and confined to her home, was nonetheless eager to serve Christ. After praying about it, she wondered if she could bring blessing to others by doing one thing she had been good at since childhood – playing the piano.
She placed this ad in the local newspaper: “Pianist will play hymns by phone for those who are sick and despondent. The service is free.” The ad included her phone number. When people called, she would ask, “What hymn would you like to hear?”
Within a few months, her playing had brought joy to several hundred people. Many of them freely poured out their hearts to her on the phone, so she was able to help them by listening to them as well as lifting their spirits by playing hymns.
The love of Christ constrains Christians to “spread love” one word, one act of kindness at a time. Moments become minutes . . . hours . . . days . . . weeks . . . months . . . years – countless moments of service which constitute a lifetime of fulfilling our Christian calling to lay down one’s life - one moment at a time!
When love reigns, encouragement abounds . . . in both the encouraged and the encourager. William Arthur Ward is credited with originating the assertion: “Flatter me, and I may believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will never forget you.”
Christians will never forget an encourager named Barnabas – actually a nickname given by the apostles to Joseph the Levite from Cyprus. This otherwise unheralded follower of The Way was called the “Son of Encouragement” by those who knew him best.
What would your nickname be if your friends called you by whatever you do most of the time . . . by whatever you are “known for”?
If you think about the impact Paul had on the Christian Cause, then factor into your assessment how a “persecutor-of-believers-turned-proclaimer-of-the-gospel” became a partner with leaders of the early Church, your mind cannot help but be impacted by “an indelible impression” as to the often overlooked role Barnabas played in the launching of the Christian Movement – Acts 9:26-28 . . .
Because Barnabas encouraged acceptance of Paul – who by the way was the first person not gladly received into the church at Jerusalem – Paul was given a chance to prove himself a true Disciple of Christ. The evidence was convincing!
Question: If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? There was in fact so much evidence to convict Paul that he spent most of his ministry “on the run”.
Fortunately, Paul had a friend named Barnabas who himself was so truthful, so trustworthy, so transparent that his presentation and recommendation of Paul in and of itself was sufficient for “old timers” in particular to need no other argument, no other plea on Paul’s behalf.
Immediately the church accepted Paul as a partner in the gospel - solely on the basis of the credibility of Barnabas – an act of trust that enabled Paul to go in and out among them freely without fear - on his part, or theirs.
Not long after Paul’s acceptance, God blessed this Fellowship of Believers to the extent that the church “spread its wings” and began to go all over that part of the world telling people - of all nationalities, races, cultures and religious ideologies – the good news about the Lord Jesus. And then what happened? Acts 11:21-26 . . .
We see here a classic example of what God can do through one encourager wholly and fully committed . . . to truth, trustworthiness, and transparency.
Other good people, like Barnabas, of whom it was said, “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith”, are encouraged in their pursuit of God’s goal . . . emboldened to speak the truth in love; when Christian leaders speak boldly in the name of Christ, the result is: the Cause of Christ is furthered! Speak timidly as if intimidated, and the Cause is weakened! Which raises the question:
How does furtherance of the Cause occur? “The Lord’s hand (symbolic of power) was with them”! Folks, when the hand of God “touches” us, we are turned! Turned around as in repentance! Turned toward God’s Goal as in changed lives! Turned upward as in prayerful dependence on the Lord to supply our needs and to satisfy the longing of our hearts!
The furtherance of the Cause of Christ is always due to the occurrence of God at work - in and thru a situation . . . a circumstance . . . a people wholly committed to the Christian Cause – evidence of which is always an occasion for celebration!
So, when the Encourager arrived on the scene and “saw the grace of God” at work . . . fruit of the vine being produced . . . a growing number of believers added to the Fellowship . . . what God was up to, he was glad, yet looked ahead!
It is one thing to be called by the name Christian and to agree with Jesus’ words . . . it’s quite a challenge to take the name of Jesus with you wher’er you go and to follow Him anywhere, everywhere!
Barnabas, fully aware of Jesus’ analogy of the vine and the branches -“I am the true vine, you are the branches . . . to abide in me and I in you is to bear much fruit” – once again relied on his God-given strategy of encouragement to set the tone for the future advancement of the kingdom of God: “I encourage you to remain true to the Lord”! Stay connected to Jesus. Maintain constant contact with Him. Let the love of Christ reign in all of your relationships.
One of the marks of an “honest encourager” - who is “in it” for the good of the Cause, not “in it” for personal glory or position of honor - is humility, associated with (a) recognizing one’s personal limitations and (b) reaching out to someone better equipped to do the job – better still, someone of high caliber with whom you personally are willing to serve alongside of!
Thus, Barnabas became a “search committee of one”. He could have gone after a close friend who would be loyal to him personally so that he (Barnabas) would be in charge, receive the credit; but no, he set his sights on the person best prepared for leading a worldwide task.
He was not in it for what he could get out of it. He was in it for what the ultimate outcome of spreading the gospel could do for a world lost in sin.
This awesome twosome of one encourager plus one carrier of the gospel – both chosen by the Lord God, commissioned by the Lord Jesus, consecrated by the Holy Spirit – worked together so effectively, for a full year in Antioch (the crossroads of multiple cultures and citizenships), their ministry among the people became so well known, their constant talk about the Christ of the Cross and His resurrection was so well received, that this fellowship of believers were called “Christians”!
A most unusual word in the original language was translated into English as “called” – used in reference to the name given to these followers of The Way. The word in Greek meant “identified as to one’s business”. So, we are told by Luke (the writer of Acts) that followers of The Way were identified as being in the business of working for Christ – the One these people keep talking about!
Thus, the name “Christian” was invented by unbelievers to identify “those people (those believers) who the rest of us – us ‘knowing ones’ – look down upon”.
“However”, wrote Peter in his first epistle, “if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name!” (I Peter4:16)
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus - there’s just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus - like the fragrance after the rain.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus - let heaven and earth proclaim.
Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away,
But there’s something about that name.”
Christian, Christian, Christian – do you bear that name?
Yes, as a disciple of Christ, you bear that name. As a Christian, give consideration to this proposition: If you were put on trial for being a Christian, what evidence would convict you? Amen.
