Galatians 6:1-2 (New International Version)
1 Brothers and
sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should
restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
As we get close to opening day of Baseball season let’s
take a look at a name we all will likely recognize, Jackie Robinson. Jackie
Robinson Was the first African-American to play Major League baseball. In his
first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson faced hatred nearly everywhere
he traveled. Pitchers threw fastballs at his head. Runners spiked him on the
bases, ugly insults were written on cards and spoken from the opposing dugouts.
Even the home crowds in Brooklyn saw him as an object of reproach.
During one game in Cincinnati, the taunts and racial
slurs seemed to reach a peak. To make matters worse, Robinson committed an
error and stood at second base humiliated while the fans hurled insults at him.
Another Dodger, a Southern white man by the name Pee Wee Reese, called timeout.
He walked from his position at shortstop toward Robinson at second base, and
with the crowds looking on; he put his arm around Robinson's shoulder. The fans
grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career.
That reminds me of a similar story in the Bible. Saul was
a most unlikely candidate for Christianity. I doubt if he was on anybody's
soul-winning list. Except God's. The reason is that you would have been locked
up or killed before you got through the first Bible study. The words Saul and
persecution were synonymous. So, Saul had a bit of a problem when he became a
Christian. Everybody was afraid to get close to him. The members of the
Jerusalem church thought that Paul was pulling a fast one, that he was only
pretending to be a disciple.
After all, that was a perfect plan -- pretend to become a
member of the church, get the names of all of the members, call the Sanhedrin
and then take the whole bunch to prison. Sounds like a spy story, doesn't it?
But, they weren't about to fall for that one! But Barnabas accepted him.
There are a couple of things about Barnabas that we need
to imitate. First of all, he was a man who insisted on believing the best in
others. When others suspected Saul of being a spy, Barnabas insisted on
believing he was genuine and real. The world is largely divided into people who
think the best of others and people who think the worst of others. "Love
doesn't keep track of wrongs....never stops being patient, never stops
believing, never stops hoping, never gives up." (I Corinthians 13:5,7.
Barnabas was also a person who didn't hold a man's past
against him. It happens so often that whenever a man makes a mistake, he is
forever condemned in our eyes. It is a wonderful characteristic of God that he
doesn't hold our past sins against us. We, too, should never condemn a man just
because he has failed in the past.
What a great example! We've all been there -- standing in
need of someone to face our problems with us. And we have those around us who
need the encouraging arm around the shoulder.
Dear Lord we pray today that we would be like Barnabas
and that we would encourage those we come into contact with. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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