Scripture: Acts 11:19–26 (NRSV)
Key Verse: “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.” — Acts 11:25–26a
Reflection:
Something important is happening in Antioch. A community of disciples is growing, and Barnabas has been sent to help strengthen it. Luke tells us that Barnabas sees the grace of God there and encourages the people to remain faithful. Then Barnabas makes a decision that reveals something about the kind of person he has become. He leaves Antioch, travels to Tarsus, and looks for Saul. Barnabas knows Saul. He has already stood beside him in Jerusalem. He knows something about his story, his gifts, and his calling. Faced with a community that needs formation, Barnabas thinks of someone else who should be part of the work.
That instinct is rarer than we might admit. Communities often depend upon the same capable people because those arrangements are familiar and efficient. Leaders can become accustomed to being needed. Experienced members can hold responsibilities so tightly that others never develop the capacity to carry them. Sometimes we complain that younger or newer people are not stepping forward while leaving little meaningful space for them to learn, risk failure, exercise judgment, or lead differently than we would. Formation requires more than assigning someone a task. Someone has to notice gifts, build trust, offer guidance, share responsibility, and remain present while another person grows into capacities they may not yet fully possess.
Barnabas shows us what belonging eventually asks of a mature disciple. We begin paying attention to whose growth has been entrusted, at least in part, to us. We cannot manufacture another person’s calling, control their development, or determine who they will become. Grace belongs to God, and every disciple remains responsible for their own response. But we can notice. We can encourage. We can share what we know. We can entrust meaningful responsibility instead of protecting our own importance. We can go looking for someone whose gifts deserve room to develop. God transformed Saul. Barnabas kept showing up in the relationships through which that transformation could mature.
Writing Prompt:
Whose growth have you noticed without taking responsibility for encouraging it? What might you have to share, release, or risk for that person to develop gifts you already see emerging?
Application:
Choose one person whose gifts you recognize. Contact them today, name specifically what you see in them, and offer one concrete opportunity to grow: shared responsibility, mentoring, an introduction, leadership, practice, or a task you will genuinely entrust to them.
Prayer:
God of transforming grace, teach me to notice what you are cultivating in others. Free me from holding tightly to roles, influence, or responsibility that could become someone else’s place to grow. Make me a faithful companion in another disciple’s becoming. Amen.