Contention Among Brethren

Acts 15:39 KJV

And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;

Gill says it is not easy to see which one, Barnabas or Saul, is most to blame for this contention. And yet it seems like we still try to place blame on one or the other. A preacher friend of mine, now passed away, pointed out that Barnabas, by parting from Paul, is never heard from again. But just today I read the words of a younger preacher who said it is completely wrong to judge John Mark for departing from the earlier journey because none of us are God who is able to judge the heart.

Of a truth we are all men of like passions and we do not do all things well. Barnabas took Mark back in and, though never directly heard from again, his influence on Mark obviously effected a reconciliation between Paul and Mark. He was heard from through Mark's future ministry. On the other hand Paul's insistence that Mark not go, even to the extent of separating from Barnabas, may have impressed upon Mark the seriousness of his earlier failure and led to his more humbly accepting further discipleship from Barnabas.

What I do know is that this incident did not alter God's plan or his determination to use Paul. The work of God progressed and perhaps was furthered through the division of this pair into two teams. Our passions and differences, though they should be tempered in our relationship with the Lord, do not alter or hinder God's work in this world.