There is an old proverb that tells how a kingdom was lost because one person didn’t do their job. A servant was to shoe horse before a great battle. As he came to the last horse he didn’t have enough nails to finish the job. Rather than go back and get the supplies needed to do the job correctly, he simple quit. Because the shoe was not installed properly, the horse lost it sh in the battle, because the shoe was lost the horse was lost which lead to the loss of a rider which lead to the loss of the battle which lead to the loss of a kingdom. Many great things often turn on the apparently trivial details.
I thought of this story when I was reading Acts 9. In it, Saul had just been converted and had immediately begun to proclaim Jesus. This caused him a great deal of problems with Jews he had previously worked with. At the same time, Christians were not willing to accept him because they were afraid of him fearing that he really wasn’t a disciple. But Barnabas was willing to go to Saul and find out the truth and convince the Christians that Saul’s conversion was sincere.
Imagine if Barnabas had not done so. How different would the world be if Saul would have never gotten he chance to spread the gospel?
We need to be like Barnabas. People that are willing to “take hold” on new converts and guide them to be useful in the kingdom. It may have seemed like a small thing for Barnabas to stand up for Saul but it had a great effect on the kingdom.
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