Searching for Others

 

What is the measure of a person’s life? I suppose there are different ways to answer that question, but I have to think that one critical measure is whether it can be said of us, as it was said of Barnabas, and also of Onesiphorus, “He searched for others.”

 

In Acts Chapter 11 we read that when the church in Jerusalem heard that a church was forming in Antioch that they “sent Barnabas off to Antioch.” In Antioch 11:24 we see that “he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” while in Acts 4:36 we learn what while this man’s name was actually Joseph, that he was called Barnabas by the apostles, “which translated means Son of Encouragement.” What better person to send to Antioch to encourage a group of believers young in Christ? Teaching sound doctrine is good, teaching sound doctrine in a spirit of encouragement is better. Also, when I consider the cosmopolitan nature of Antioch, what a marvelous choice Barnabas was, for he no doubt focused on our unity in Jesus Christ as new creations rather than allowing differences in ethnicity to sow seeds of distinctions and division.

 

Things were going well in Antioch, in Acts 11:24 we see that “considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.” But something was missing, or better yet, someone was missing. And so off goes Barnabas to find the missing person, “And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul [Paul], and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.”

 

This was sweet for Antioch, and it was sweet for Paul. Can we picture Paul’s reaction when he hears a knock on his door in Tarsus, opens it, and sees Barnabas standing before him? Years before, when Paul came to Jerusalem after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, wanting to meet with the disciples in Jerusalem but finding that they would not meet with him “because they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:11); it was Barnabas who “took hold of him and brought him to the apostles” (Acts 9:27). Now here was Barnabas once again, but this time instead of taking Paul to meet the apostles in Jerusalem, Barnabas would take Paul to meet young believers in Antioch, now Barnabas would put Paul to work.

 

We can only conjecture the “what ifs” when we think of Barnabas and Paul. What if Barnabas had not taken Paul to meet the apostles in Jerusalem? What if Barnabas had not taken the initiative and sought out Paul and then taken him to Antioch? When Barnabas introduced Paul to the apostles, he might as well have said, “Brothers, let me introduce you to what will become a good measure of what will be known as the New Testament.”

 

When Barnabas introduced Paul to the Christians in Antioch he might as well have said, “Brothers and sisters, this man, who in times past consented to the murder of Stephen and persecuted us, will one day be murdered for his own faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ, and indeed to us all. This man will encourage us as we face rejection and persecution, and he will teach us to love Jesus and to love one another – indeed, this man will one day write Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 1 and so much more.”

 

What if there had been no Barnabas?

 

Then we come toward the end of Paul’s life, as he is confined to a Roman prison. Wat do we read in what is his final known letter to Timothy?

 

“The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me – the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day – and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.” 2 Timothy 1:16 – 18.

 

“Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.” 2 Timothy 4:19.

 

In Paul’s early Christian life, he had an encourager named Barnabas, in the waning season of his life he had another encourager, a “refresher,” named Onesiphorus. They both sought Paul and found him, and while Barnabas took Paul to Antioch to refresh others, Onesiphorus brought refreshment to Paul.

 

(Let’s recall what Paul wrote to Philemon from prison, “For I have come to have joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.” Philemon 1:7. Are we refreshing “the hearts of the saints,” or are we sowing seeds of anxiety, depression, fear, and discord? Must others come behind us and pull up the weeds we have sown? Are we known as those who “refresh the hearts of the saints?)

 

Onesiphorus made it a point to search for Paul in Rome; his friendship with Paul was not contingent on fair weather, nor was it dependent on what others thought of Paul, including the Roman government or powerful religious leaders, nor was it dependent on what Paul could give to him (Paul had already given everything to him).

 

Onesiphorus was “not ashamed” of Paul’s chains, he was not ashamed to be associated with Paul and identified as a friend of a prisoner of Rome, for that prisoner was first and foremost a prisoner of Jesus Christ. (See Eph. 3:1, 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:8; Philemon 1:1, 9). Indeed, Paul had been a prisoner of the Lord since encountering Christ on his way to Damascus.

 

For all Onesiphorus knew, his finding Paul in prison cold lead to his own imprisonment – but he searched for Paul and found him. We don’t know how long the search took, but the very world “search” indicates that he wasn’t able to look Paul’s address up on the Internet or in a phone book or a city directory. Onesiphorus could have given up after his first few attempts, but he kept searching.  If Onesiphorus did get discouraged in his search we aren’t told of it, but we do know that discouragement when searching for someone or something is natural – there is no shame in facing discouragement, but can the same be said for giving up?

 

Do we ever think when searching for others, or seeking to help others, “Well, with all these obstacles it must not be God’s will for me to try to do this, I give up”? Suppose Onesiphorus had had this attitude? Suppose he had given up his search for Paul?

 

We know a lot about Barnabas, we don’t know as much about Onesiphorus, but we know what God wants us to know, and what we know of both men should be a challenge to us.

 

Who are we encouraging today? Who are we seeking out to refresh?

 

What prisons are people living in today, prisons which discourage others from visiting? Prisons of fear, doubt, anxiety, uncertainty, rejection, sickness, ostracism, inequity, homelessness, hunger? Are there “strangers in a strange land” that desperately need friendship and acceptance, someone to talk with them and walk with them after losing home and country and all that is familiar?

 

Dear, dear friends, there are prisons all about us, all around us, and Jesus tells us that visiting hours are 24/7.

 

Will our names be linked to Barnabas and Onesiphorus in that great Book of Heaven?

 

On that Day when we stand with others before our Lord Jesus, will there be a voice in the crowd that calls YOUR name, and says, “When I was in prison ______ sought me out and was not ashamed of me”?

 

Much love,

Bob Withers