Daily Direction Reading PlanSample

Nicknames can be fun, but also descriptive. They sometimes capture character traits in people. That is what happened to Barnabas, the Bible character. His real name was Joseph, but people called him Barnabas, which means "Son of Encouragement." Almost every time we meet him in Scripture, he is encouraging someone. We learn from Acts 4 that he sold a field, then gave the money to help and encourage people in need. After accepting Christ, Saul needed someone to vouch for his conversion. Barnabas listened to his testimony and introduced him to the apostles. As the Gospel expanded to Syria, the apostles needed somebody to oversee the work. They picked Barnabas. "When he arrived and saw the proof of God's favor, he was filled with joy and encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord." He found and urged Saul to come to Antioch and teach the people. Later, Saul needed someone to go with him on his first missionary journey; he chose Barnabas. As the two prepared to take a second missionary trip, they had a disagreement about taking Mark, so Paul chose Silas. But Barnabas saw something in Mark and took him to Cyprus. After mentoring and encouraging the young man, Mark became a trusted servant of Christ and wrote the Gospel of Mark. Barnabas had the gift of encouraging others—a gift we badly need today, especially to encourage young people.