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bigmike

DAILY DEVOTION
Seeing the Change
Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) Colossians 4:10
At one time Paul viewed Mark as undependable and unreliable. Mark had abandoned Paul and Barnabas after originally accompanying them on their first missionary trip. This desertion concerned Paul, to the point that he would not bring Mark on their second trip. "And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work" (Acts 15:37-38). The contention between Paul and Barnabas over this matter was so sharp that it divided them, despite all they had been through together. Yet later on Paul recognized that Mark had indeed changed and become someone who was reliable. In Paul's final letter, he even asked Timothy to bring Mark to Rome stating, "Take Mark, and bring him with thee:
for he is profitable to me for the ministry" (2 Timothy 4:11). These are high words of praise, especially considering Mark's history.
If someone lets us down or disappoints us, we are not to write them off forever. We are not to assume that because someone has failed once they will never become better. Helping others grow and develop requires that we are willing to recognize if someone has truly changed and treat them accordingly, without holding the things of the past against them. This is exactly what Barnabas had done for Paul after his conversion. When the church hesitated to believe that Paul had been saved, it was Barnabas who supported and defended him. "But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus" (Acts 9:27). We should be quick to give people credit for the changes they have made in their lives.
We should always be open to the possibility that people can change through the work of God's grace in their lives.
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