The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 15:36-40, “And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.’

37 “And Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also.

38 “But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

39 “And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

40 “But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.”

President Trump has recently taken a strong stand against the decades-old trade practices of the

Chinese. While he stands adamantly against the Chinese unfair trade practices, he insists that

President Xi (pronounced “she”) and he are friends. Is it possible to disagree strongly with a position

of a friend without severing the friendship? We’ll look into the Bible for the answer.

If you read the from the start of Acts 15, you will see that false teachers had so infected the

early church with their false teachings that the apostles agreed to debate and settle the issue

in a large council meeting in Jerusalem. The entire council heard from Peter, Paul, Barnabus,

and James. The result was a unanimous rejection of the false teaching and a retention of the

teaching embraced by Peter, Paul, Barnabus and James.

When the meeting was over, everyone went home –that is, almost everyone. Paul and Barnabus

had been a primary missionary team, so they talked about revisiting churches they had founded,

strengthening them in the faith. Barnabus wanted to take Mark, who was his young relative. Mark

had gone with them previously, but for some reason had turned back in the middle of the trip and

gone home. Paul objected to taking Mark, as he was not dependable. The two argued about whether

to take Mark, “And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another,

and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.”

Now, it seemed as if Paul was left to journey alone. But interestingly enough, “…it (had) seemed

good to Silas to remain there.” So, Paul chose Silas and departed…” But what about the argument

they had? What effect did that have upon their future friendship? In Second Peter 3:16, Peter spoke

of Paul as “our beloved brother.” And in Second Timothy 4:11, Paul says, “Pick up Mark and bring

him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”

Earlier, Paul and Barnabus had a disagreement regarding Mark. It was not a disagreement concerning

each other. It concerned an aspect of their joint ministry. We all have differences of opinion of a variety

of subjects; still, that must not inhibit us from maintaining friendships. And even though it might for the

moment, it need not be something that erases a friendship forever. Paul and Barnabus were Christian

men, who determined not to let anything destroy their friendship, their ministry, or their testimony for

Jesus Christ. We must learn the same. We must learn to be like Jesus, who in His dying hour said,

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Love covers a multitude of disagreements –and sins!

We love you and pray for you each and every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”