What Constitutes Success

I was in a discussion one day with a friend about Paul and Barnabas and John Mark and Silas and their journeys and how God was working through them.

My friend commented on the fact that Paul and Barnabas got into a severe argument about John Mark. He had left them in the middle of their journey to return to Jerusalem.  After Paul and Barnabas got back to Jerusalem and stayed for a while, they started out again. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark; Paul did not. The argument was so tense that the two men separated. Paul and Silas went together and Barnabas and John Mark went together.

My friend asked who was right Paul or Barnabas. He contends that Paul was because we don't hear about Barnabas any more. I said that is the wrong way to look at it. You can't measure the right or wrong, the success of the ministry by how visible it is or how many chapters of the Bible are dedicated to it.

Although the book is anonymous, it is generally accepted that this same John Mark is the writer of the Gospel according to Mark, the first written account of the life of Jesus. I believe that without the encouragement of Barnabas, he might never have written this account. It is also believed that he used the sermons and teachings of Peter as the basis for most of his writing. Peter was in Jerusalem and not out on the road like Paul was.

Too often I think we look at people and ministries and churches and make judgments about their "success" based on our worldly viewpoint. I think many of us will be surprised when we get to heaven at those who are found faithful to God's calling because they didn't seem very successful to us.