Reb Rev's Blog

“The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.   When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.” – Acts 11:22-24

Thanks for nothing!

Have you ever heard someone utter these words? (Truth be told, we’ve probably said them a time or two as well.)

But, in the case of Barnabas, many had much to be thankful for, because of nothing. Many folks today are so concerned about being something, Barnabas was content to have nothing.

John Maxwell, in The Maxwell Leadership Bible, explains it like this:

(Barnabas) initiated and did whatever it took to raise morale, men, or money. He led with charity and by example by becoming a servant. He considered no task too small. What allowed Barnabas to demonstrate such a lifestyle? He had…

Nothing to prove – Barnabas didn’t have to play games. He never sought the limelight. When he mentored Paul, he happily let the emerging apostle rise above him.

Nothing to lose – Barnabas didn’t have to guard his reputation or fear that he would lose popularity. He came to serve, not to be served. This enabled to him to focus on giving, not getting.

Nothing to hide – Barnabas didn’t maintain a façade or image. He remained authentic, vulnerable, and transparent. He could rejoice with others victories.  

My prayer this week is each of us will have “nothing” in the same way Barnabas did.

This entry was posted on November 21, 2014 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.