Waiting For Barns

Our second child was due this past Tuesday.  He is three days late.  My wife says that the baby has “dropped” but that she feels no contractions at all.  All throughout this second pregnancy, we’ve been told that the second baby always comes a few days earlier than the due date.  Obviously, that’s not the case with our second baby.  He’s late and there are no signs of him coming tonight or even tomorrow.  So what do we do?  We just wait I guess.  I asked Virginia if she thinks the baby is going to come soon?  She doesn’t know.  All she knows is that she’s feeling no contractions but she feels the baby moving.  We went to see our doctor yesterday and we were told that everything is fine.  So I guess we’ll just keep on waiting.

We’ve decided to name our son, “Barnabas.”  With our first child, Tabitha, everything was so new.  Everything about the pregnancy and about the baby felt so “new” and wondrous.  But with our second, it didn’t feel like that.  Because we had already gone through the experience of having a baby, our second pregnancy was just normal.  But when we found out that we’re having a son, the newness and wonder came back to us. A boy!  A boy is not a girl.  A boy is different from a girl.  It will indeed be a new experience.  From dolls and pink colored shoes and clothes… now, it’s car toys and blue colored shoes and clothes.  What a big difference!

So the name “Barnabas” was chosen because the name means, “Son of Encouragement.”  I’ve always wanted to have a son and name him “Barnabas.”  The name is also a strong name.  Barnabas in the Bible was a great character who encouraged the church leaders to accept Paul into fellowship and also encouraged and helped Paul in his ministry.  Barnabas was a self-less and generous man and like Tabitha, he’s found in the Book of Acts.  He’s a minor character who has a major role in the expansion of God’s Kingdom and God’s Church in the Book of Acts.  We know people will be tempted to call him “Barney.”  I’m okay with that.  I prefer people to call him, “Barns” or “Bas” or simply “B.”  His middle name will be “Justin” so people can also call him, “BJ.”  I think it’s finally hitting us that we’re actually having another baby and we’re actually having a son.  Wow, wow, wow!  I can’t wait to meet the little guy and to hold him, love him, and teach him.  I can’t wait to lead him spiritually and to pray with him.  I can’t wait to teach him how to shoot a basketball or to throw a baseball.  It’s going to be great!

Barnabas, hurry!  Come out and meet the world!  I want to see your face!  Hurry!

Son of Encouragement

William Arthur Ward once said, “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore  me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”

When my wife was prego with our daughter, we went through name after name. At that time, we didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl. But if the child was a boy, I wanted to name him Barnabas. There were a few other names that I liked as well, but Barnabas stuck out for me. My wife probably doesn’t remember this, but when I mentioned the name, she shot it down quickly and with might. She thought the kid will get ridiculed and be called “Barney” the rest of his life. Well, I still like the name and I like the person in the Bible even more!

Barnabas the man isn’t mentioned much throughout the Bible but whenever he does appear, he’s always seen in positive light. The first time he’s mentioned in the Bible is Acts 4:36. “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostle called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostle’s feet.” Wow! What a man of character. His real name was Joseph and right away we see a glimmer of what sort of man he was. He was a man of great kindness and generosity. He sold what he had and then gave it away to meet the needs of the church. But more than that, the apostles called him Barnabas, which was his nickname. Everyone has nicknames, right? When I was younger, folks called me “Roadrunner” like the cartoon character because I ran fast and it seemed I would never tire. In football, my coach called me, “Studpuppy,” because… well, obviously i was! I was a good football player in high school despite my diminutive stature.

Around that time, there was a hater named Saul. The guy absolutely despised the Christians to a point he would go far away to find them, arrest them, and then bring them all the way back to have them in trial. He was the infamous guy who held people’s coats while they stoned and murdered Stephen in Acts 7. This infamous hater was on his way to Damascus when he had a conversion experience. The Lord Jesus met Saul and revealed Himself to him. Saul was saved and became Paul. He changed from being a hater of truth to a lover of Jesus. He was blinded by his vision of Jesus, but in reality, he could really see for the first time in his life. After this experience, Paul tried to join the church. But according to Acts 9:26, the disciples were afraid and didn’t believe that Paul had really been transformed. Here I can totally empathize with the disciples. Paul’s reputation precedes him and here he is, the persecutor who hates the church and now he wants to join the fellowship? I don’t think so. Rightly so, the disciples were afraid that this could be a trick to deceive the Christians. But this is where our hero shows up. Verse 27 says, “BUT Barnabas took him (Paul) and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.” Barnabas encouraged the disciples to accept Paul into their fellowship and it worked. Later on, Barnabas would accompany Paul on his missionary journeys. Think for a moment where Paul would be without Barnabas supporting him and encouraging him. As the Holy Spirit inspired him, Paul would go on to author almost two thirds of the New Testament. Where would Paul be without Barnabas? Then again, where would we be without Paul?

Barnabas is a hero! And who doesn’t need to be encouraged today? I know I do. I think everyone needs to be encouraged in some way or another often. Everyone needs a Barnabas in their life. And everyone should strive to be a Barnabas to someone every single day. Opportunities abound for us to encourage someone whether in word or deed… all we have to do is open our eyes and see.

“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.” (unknown)