Restoring the Fallen

 April 4, 2024

Thursday

Scripture records that John Mark abruptly leaves Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary journey. We don't know the reason why, but we do know that it greatly upset Paul. John Mark was either necessary for the mission or Paul didn't care for the character of someone who would commit to something and abandon it before it was completed. All we know is that Paul didn't want to have anything to do with him on later missionary trips. The disagreement was so great that Paul and Barnabas would split on a subsequent missionary journey because Barnabas thought they should take John Mark again. Paul would not have him on the mission. Paul, therefore takes Silas and Barnabas takes John Mark as each head for different missionary destinations.

Much later we find that Paul asks for John Mark and calls him useful. The problem was trust. Trust is faithfulness over time. Paul was unwilling to trust John Mark for some time. In the end, Paul again trusts John Mark.

Many Christians have no place for redemption for those who have failed in the faith. They write off those who have fallen. They have no path that they can be redeemed. They are done with those who sin as if they have never sinned. 

Make no mistake, those who have sinned need to be disciplined. They should be taken out of the ministry for some time. They should be given an opportunity to redeem themselves. They also need to be given the opportunity to be faithful and restore trust. They need someone who will come alongside them to give them this opportunity.

Too often those who abandon their mission act like nothing has happened. They continue to act with impunity. They are either deceiving themselves or others about their relationship with the Lord. In other words, they can't have a close walk with the Lord as long as they continue in disobedience and either have excused themselves for their failure or have deceived others into thinking that the mission has "changed." Those who won't acknowledge their failure cannot be redeemed for they see no reason to act differently than they are acting.

However, when you see someone who has failed and grieves over that failure, you should ask if you are the "Barnabas" that God would use to restore them. Even the "Pauls" of the world will come around if they are found faithful. Trust must be rebuilt. You may be the one to help them rebuild it.

Acts 15:36–40 (NASB 2020) ³⁶ After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.