A volcano contains a furnace that can melt even the hardest of rock. In the heat of that volcanic furnace, layers of vastly different materials can become twisted together in such a way that two types of rock become one.
However, once a wedge breaks the layers apart again, can they ever be brought back together?
Paul, the great persecutor of the fledgling Christian movement, and Barnabas, the skilled orator who had bridged the gap between Paul and the cautious Apostles, had supported each other during the most difficult times of the early Church. They had been forged together as one man through the power of Christ.
In Acts 15:2, when stiff dissention over the argument of circumcision crippled the church at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas stood shoulder to shoulder against the false teachers. After traveling to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles and the church Elders, in Acts 15:35, we see Paul and Barnabas back in Antioch, together still, ministering and preaching to the believers and unbelievers.
They were tied together with a bond that was more than friendship. Their souls were forged as one. They were inseparable in their zeal for the Lord’s mission.
Yet, a wedge was driven between them, and within a short span of time, they parted ways, never to minister together again.
In Acts 15:37-38 Paul wanted to head out on another tour of the churches with Barnabas at his side. Barnabas was determined to take his much younger relative, John Mark, with them. When Paul refused, mutual anger flared. Barnabas left with John Mark, and Paul chose Silas as his companion.
To Barnabas, his reasons for taking John Mark seemed valid. The young man was his sister’s son, his own flesh and blood. He loved him and wanted him involved in the ministry of the Lord.
Paul remembered their previous tour of the churches, when the youthful John Mark, a young teen at best, had abandoned them, leaving Paul’s team in a difficult position. Paul needed a strong group at his side, one that would not let him down.
It seemed that once again, blood had trumped water. But had it?
Barnabas is not mentioned again in the book of Acts, but he does not remain far from Paul’s heart for long. In 1 Corinthians 9:6 and Galatians 2:1-13, Paul refers to his old friend with warmth. In Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11, and later in Philemon 1:23-25, he speaks in glowing terms of Barnabas’ nephew, John Mark.
Had blood trumped water? Or had the grace of Jesus Christ trumped both? To paraphrase Matthew 19:6, what God has joined with his power and grace, no man has the power to pull apart.
When we allow the trials of this world to bond us together with our Christian brothers, we will become an inseparable force for good, and not even the wiles of the devil will be able to tear us apart.
Blood might be thicker than water, but the power of God trumps everything.
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