An old skit on the television show Hee Haw had a guest say to the doctor, “Doc, I broke my arm in two places. What should I do?” “Stay out of those places,” came the doctor’s response. Good advice, right? Sometimes we associate places with bad memories. Naturally, we avoid those places. Not Paul and Barnabas.
After a successful ministry in Derbe, they returned to the places where they faced opposition and where Paul almost died. Why? They wanted to strengthen and encourage the new believers there. Listen to the authenticity of their message: “We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” To those who had seen the apostles risk their lives, these were not empty words.
A virus has infected the gospel of our day. Preachers announce that if we follow Jesus, we will automatically become healthy, wealthy, and wise. How does that line up with Paul and Barnabas’s experiences? The more faithful they were, the greater the opposition they faced. Better still, the greater the opposition, the more they experienced the faithfulness of God.
All the new believers in these new churches needed leaders who would shepherd their growth. So Paul and Barnabas fasted, prayed, appointed elders, and committed them to the God in whom they trusted. How much do we trust God? It turns out our trust is transmissible to others. The apostles transmitted their trust to these fledgling churches. How much do we trust God today? Do we have trust to share with others? Will we?
