… [Barnabas] was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit
and of faith… he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him
to Antioch. And for an entire year they
met with the church and taught considerable numbers… (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Acts 11:24-26)
I get by with a little help from my friends (Beatles 1967)
If
you were a fan of the American version of The
Office, then you’ll remember an episode in season five where Michael Scott
has quit Dunder Mifflin to start his own paper company (Novak 2009) . Pam Beesly also quit Dunder Mifflin to follow
Michael, and the episode begins with Michael having a breakdown and doubting
his decision. Pam is the voice of reason
to Michael and is there to encourage and motivate him. Later in the episode, Pam has a moment of
crisis and doubts her decision to follow Michael. At that time, it is Michael that is the voice
of reason for Pam. Although this is not
an example of Spiritual Friendship, it is a terrific example of one person
needing another person to aid them through their struggles, doubts and fears,
and because they are in it together, it is even more powerful.
To this
point, in the past blogs we’ve looked at examples of Spiritual Friendship in
the Old Testament. However, the same
concept can be found in the pages of the New Testament as well. In fact, when Jesus started His ministry, one
of the things He did was call followers like Peter, James, and John. These three had a unique relationship with
Jesus, they are the ones we see with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mk.
9:2-8). Then in the garden of Gethsemane,
they are the ones who witness Jesus’ distress and hear his expression of deep
grief (Mk. 14:33-34).
Other
examples come from the life of the Apostle Paul and his relationship to Barnabas. When Christianity spread from Jerusalem to
Antioch, Barnabas was sent by the Church to encourage and minister there. He was able to see that the work was too
great for one person and therefore, he went and found Paul to help (Acts.
11:25-26). This year of ministering
together must have forged a bond between the two, because after this, they are
set apart by the Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel further. Possibly as early as AD 46 and going as late
as 48, these two men embarked on a missionary journey together. This included preaching the Gospel in
Pisidian Antioch, where they would face criticism and conflict with Jews (Acts.
13:45).
We must
keep in mind, although both were well versed in the Scriptures and both were
filled with the Holy Spirit, they were still human. Therefore, they were subject to all the doubts
and insecurities that all people are subject to when criticized and maligned. Perhaps, one of the reasons that the Lord put
them together was so that one could encourage the other if doubts and
insecurities set in during the mission.
Next
week, we’ll begin to transition from Spiritual Friendship into Spiritual
Guidance.
Works Cited
Beatles, The. 1967. With a Little Help from My
Friends. Comps. John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible.
LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.
Novak, B. J. 2009. Dream Team, The Office, Season
5, Episode 22. Directed by Paul Feig. Performed by Steve Carell, Jenna
Fischer.
