Most of the time that...
Illustration
Most of the time that he is mentioned in the New Testament is merely as that of a traveling companion of Paul. But in this passage we see that Barnabas had two very important qualities that every disciple ought to have. William Barclay wrote, "He was a man who insisted on believing the best of others. When others suspected Paul of merely being a spy ... Barnabas insisted on believing that he was genuine and real. As Paul later said, "Love thinks no evil." No one believed in men as Jesus himself did and it is enough for the disciple that he be his Lord. "He [Barnabas] was a man who never held a man's past against him. It is so often the case that just because a man once made a mistake, he is in our eyes forever condemned. It is the great characteristic of the heart of God that he has not held our past sins against us. We too should never condemn a man because he once failed." -- Joseph
