Parting of the Ways
ACTS 15: 36- 16:15 (June 24)
Have you ever had a "parting of the ways" with someone you had spent a great deal of time with? Maybe it is a spouse, a friend, relative, or co-worker. Whatever the situation and whoever the person is, it is not a fun time, and can be hard on the heart.
Paul and Barnabas had spent a lot of time together. They were friends and fellow apostles. They were missionaries together for Christ. They complimented each other with their gifts and calling and God used them greatly to grow his Kingdom.
But sometimes, there is a parting of ways, even in what seems to be a perfect pairing. While they both agreed to return to all the cities they had previously preached in and see how the new believers were doing, they did NOT agree on taking John Mark along. Barnabas wanted to bring him, but Paul was dead set against it.
And there you have it, one disagreement that is so volatile it causes a separation of two servant hearts.
Barnabas took John Mark and went one way. Paul chose Silas as his companion and went another way. Thus marked an end of an era for this dynamic duo.
Paul came across Timothy in Lystra. He was the son of a Jew and a Greek, and Paul heard he was well thought of by the believers. He arranged for Timothy to be circumcised, because he knew that the Jews knew Timothy was not circumcised, and Paul didn't want them to have any reason not to listen to the message.
Town to town they went, giving the believers some rules to live by, such as respecting the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. The churches grew and strengthened in their faith.
They traveled on to other places and one night Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia (Northern Greece) pleading with him to come to Macedonia and help them. So off they went to Macedonia.
While there, they met some women who were gathered at the riverbank. One woman, Lydia, was dressed in expensive purple cloth and said she worshipped God. She listened to the apostles as they preached, and she and her entire household ended up getting baptized She invited the apostles to be her guests in her home, saying, "If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home." They believed she was a true believer, so they stayed with her.
The parting of ways between Paul and Barnabas was not a pleasant situation, but God used it for his purposes. He is so good at bringing good from the ugliness of life.
The same can be said for our own situations. Sometimes we find ourselves in an ugly situation with someone, but God is still there. He will take our ashes and make something very lovely with them if we remain faithful, even in our parting of ways.