Who Are You?

I have been reading Acts for the past few days. There have been several main men spoken about; Saul (whose name was later changed to Paul), John Mark, and Barnabas. These three men were so important for the spreading of God's word. This does not mean that they never made any mistakes, but they allowed God to work in their lives despite their shortcomings. In some way I can relate to these men, and in some way I can see where I have failed as well.

Saul was a man who had a heart for God and was zealous for God. He was a Pharisee which meant that he knew the Scripture by memory, word for word. With all of his heart he was living for God, but this does not mean that he was doing things right. He loved God, but he was unknowingly living in sin. We know that his heart was for God and not full of pride, for when he was shown the truth he admitted his wrong doing. He immediately turned from his life and began a new one. He did not slink away and hide because of his mistake, but shouted out to everyone, that he was wrong. I love this! He is a prime example of how we are to respond when our sin is exposed and our eyes are open to the truth.

John Mark is another man who had weaknesses to over come. For some reason he had a habit of abandoning his friends when things got hard. The thing that makes him strong and effective is the fact that he was able to learn from his mistakes. Because of his mistakes, he grew and learned and in return became a very strong man of God. There are always consequences from our mistakes, but wisdom comes when we learn from those mistakes. Sometimes it takes trials in our life to make us strong. Mark is an excellent example of this. He started off weak, but with encouragement and patience, he proved to be very effective for the kingdom of God.

Barnabas is know as the encourager for many in the New Testament. Barnabas is the man behind the scene, encouraging God's mighty men in their battle. If it were not for Barnabas' encouraging words Paul would have had a much harder time in teaching his conversion. He may have even given up. Because of Barnabas, Mark was given a second chance. These men are just two examples of the difference that encouragement makes. If it were not for Barnabas' encouraging words, most of the New Testament may have never been written by them. Encouraging others is often over looked, because most often it is done in private. But sometimes it is encouragement, that is needed the most, to keep one from giving up hope.

Who are you? Who have you been, and who do you want to become? I have been and I am sure at times I still am Saul. I believe with all of my heart that I am doing the right thing. I want to please God and I live for Him. But this does not mean that I get everything correct. Some times I need someone else to point out my shortcomings, so that I can correct them and do better next time. It is very easy to want to run as did Mark. Things get tough and at first it seems the better thing to give up, but in reality the best thing is to persevere. Often we learn more from our own mistakes than our successes. With all of my heart I want to be an encourager. Everyone feels better after being around someone who encourages them. Even if you have to correct someone, you can end the discussion on an encouraging reproach. Who are you? Who do you want to be more like?