Be a Barnabas

Barnabas was known as the "Son of Encouragement" (Acts 4:36). What greater compliment could anyone receive than to go down in history as a model encourager?

Some Christians seem especially Barnabas-like, for their cheerful disposition can brighten a room and lift others' spirits. But even if encouragement "isn't your gift," and even when you could use some encouragement yourself, you can't escape the responsibility to encourage others. The Bible says to "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13). This verse tells us three important facts about encouragement.

First, encouragement results from personal interaction. It's not something we can conjure up on our own. It's something we offer "one another"—a gift we offer each other in the body of Christ. As Paul told his friend Philemon, "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints" (Philemon verse 7). Healthy personal relationships take effort, but you'll be left with nothing but discouragement if you disconnect yourself from others. That's why we shouldn't "give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but . . . encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:25).

Hebrews 3:13 also implies that encouragement is a perishable commodity. Like a vitamin, we need to give and receive it "daily." Many biblical commands require everyday obedience, yet the Bible doesn't explicitly say "husbands, love your wives every day," "do good to all people daily," or "set your hearts on things above every day." But for most of us, the reservoir of encouragement has to be refilled every 24 hours, so the biblical writer says to "encourage one another daily." Encouraging words and deeds are like manna from above—daily bread for the soul. Have you received your daily dose of Vitamin E (encouragement) today? Have you given a dose to someone else?

Hebrews 3:13 also indicates that encouragement is preventative medicine. It keeps us from being "hardened by sin's deceitfulness." When we feel discouraged, our hearts tend to grow cold and hard toward the Lord and his church. We question God's faithfulness, doubt his Word, distance ourselves from others, and drift into disobedience. That's when we need faithful Christian friends like Paul and Barnabas, "strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith" (Acts 14:22).

Who has been a Barnabas to you lately? For whom will you be a Barnabas today? "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word" (2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17).