my first thought was I would pick a verse discussing inclusion of gentiles, but then this section caught me coming to a peak at --
39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
seems like a messy fight, so I did just a little research. Found this little analysis that makes some sense to me:
From the relationship of Paul and Barnabas we can draw an important lesson. Here were two godly men, loved by the churches, filled with the Spirit, enduring persecution together, seeing people saved, and enjoying an effective ministry. Yet they were fallible and did not see eye to eye on everything. They quarreled and parted ways. Even the best and most faithful among us are prone to the interpersonal conflicts and mistakes. We are all fallen human beings. The ministries of both men continued—in fact, the number of missionary teams doubled! God can use even our disagreements to further His work.
I've said/asked on our church governing board in the past how can we all be listening for God's will yet have such different opinions. How we spend money, which ministries to invest energy, what is our church vision statement, social issues, politics, etc. the list goes on. I've concluded we are too imperfect to determines God's will so we sometimes have differences. Thats ok, God can use those differences as well. Here is an example of that right in the bible and I didn't realize it was there. They parted ways but God used them to continue to grow his Kingdom.
knut
great insight. Another way to look at it might be that it was part of God's plan for them to separate, and further spread the word. I believe God can use division and disruption for his benefit. He may even plan it.
ReplyDeleteThis disagreement is the second one recorded in this chapter. The other was in the beginning when talking about circumcision and the gentiles. Both described as "sharp."