by Jerry Senn
You do not need to be reminded how important and vital the life of the great apostle Paul is and has been to believers through the centuries. His thirteen letters to weak and seeking believers are still a staple in bringing about spiritual growth in our lives. Consider his beginning as a man without a church. (See Acts 9:19b-30).
After Saul’s conversion to Christ, for some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ And all who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon his name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?’
But Saul, increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
"When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, … but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.”
—Acts 9:22–23, 25
At this point, Saul was a man without a church. Jews hated him and his new spiritual family, feared and shunned him—he got the “cold shoulder.”
“When he came to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.”
—Acts 9:26–27
So, as a result, Saul was acknowledged to be a fellow Christian and “he began preaching boldly…and spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus” (his hometown).
What a great story!!! Imagine how Saul’s future would have developed if no one had believed in him and actively stood with him in those early days. Seeing the good in others is not enough. They must receive encouragement by someone who sees their value, taking a stand with them.
Saul’s story challenges every believer to “Be a Barnabas!”