Scripture: Acts 15:30-41
I can see it now. Two people are in the kitchen of their home yelling about something. One wants to do it this way and the other wants to do it that way. Both won’t budge. They try to explain their case but they both feel like they are getting nowhere. Finally, one runs out of reasons why they are right and storms out of the kitchen, stomps down the hall, goes into their room and locks the door.
Are meetings like this productive? Should they happen between Christians? Between families? In marriages?
Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement over whether Mark should go with them on their next missionary journey. Everything was going well. Paul and Barnabas, along with others, were ministering in the church in Antioch. But when it was time to go out on the next missionary trip, this disagreement happened.
We don’t know much about what Barnabas and Mark did on their trip since the trip of Paul is recorded for us in Scripture. But we do know that Paul commends Mark in his letters (Col. 4:10, Philemon 24; 2 Tim. 4:11). So, while Paul thought Mark was not ready for him to join him at the time of this trip, he did see his value as a missionary at a later time.
It seems like God brought blessing through this disagreement. They now got to reach twice as many people as they did before if they were all traveling together.
While on the surface division is hard, it is the key to multiplication. If we keep adding people to the church, it just grows little by little and people are subtracted when they don’t fit into the growing group. But, if we divide a group, both groups should grow. Division like this leads to multiplication.
While Paul and Barnabas didn’t necessarily plan for it to work like this, God used the circumstance for His glory. If we can be united even when we disagree, God can continue to still use everyone involved. Sometimes, there is a blessing in disagreement. Sometimes, the big question is, are we bold enough to express the disagreement in a loving and Christ-like way?
