But Barnabas

“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” - Acts 9v27

Those of us who live in freedom today can hardly imagine what it was like for the infant church. They were new, they had no history to look back on, and even the New Testament was not complete. From their inception they had faced nothing from the world but persecution.

No wonder they were a bit leery when Saul came to Jerusalem to join with them. They, after all, had seen him at Stephen’s funeral holding the cloaks of those doing the stoning. They all knew who Saul was and probably recognised him on sight. It was a tough think to welcome him in. Perhaps he was a plant by the authorities.

An act of great faith and courage took place. Everyone was afraid, but Barnabas was willing to step forward and speak up for Saul. God is sovereign and the “what ifs” of history are indeed vanity. But still, what if Barnabas had not stood up for Saul? What if he had been rejected? Where would we be today.

Praise God for the little words, “but Barnabas”. Are they times and places in my life that were just waiting for a, “but Roger”?