Wed. Night Impact

Last night I spoke about being a loser. I've had a lot of moments in my life where I have felt like a loser. Either because of stupid things that I've done and moments of idiocy, or because of ways others have treated me. But does that make me a loser. No. God sees the potential in me. He doesn't define me as what I've done but who I can become. And throughout the Bible, and really throughout history, God has used some losers to do his work (I use "loser" here, but mainly I'm talking about people that no one else would expect or people who have failed in major ways).

I think this is because of two reasons. One, these people are usually more dependent on God. They are more humble and realize that they need God to accomplish major tasks. They don't rely on their own gifts and talents to get them through a tough situation. Second, God likes to use the underdog, to show His glory. He will take the least-likely person and accomplish huge things. David was just a kid when he beat Goliath. Moses was a loner who was running away from his past when God called him. And this continues to happen throughout the Bible.

So I spoke about John Mark. He met Jesus when he was a teenager. He hung out with Jesus and saw miracles and listened to his teachings. He was with Jesus the night he got betrayed and arrested. In fact, it says that he got scared and a guard grabbed him, and then Mark ran away, out of his robe, naked. A few years later he went on a mission trip with Paul and Barnabas, and sometime along the trip, Mark left them to return home. We don't know if he got scared or if he just missed his momma, but whatever the case, he left before their work was done. A few years later, Paul and Barnabas were wanting to go on another mission trip to visit the churches that they started. Mark wanted to go, and Barnabas wanted him to go, but Paul absolutely DID NOT want him to go. In fact, this caused a big fight, and Paul and Barnabas split ways. Paul went one way with Silas, and Barnabas went another way with Mark.

How do you think you would have felt if someone you looked up to absolutely didn't think you were good enough to go with him. I bet he felt horrible. I know I would have. But Barnabas, who's name means "Encourager," saw the potential in Mark. Over the next few years, we don't' hear anything about Mark and Barnabas. The story of Acts decides to follow Paul and his ministry. But I think Mark went under Barnabas' wing. I think Barnabas taught him how to minister and teach. I think Barnabas encouraged him and built him up and mentored him.

The next thing we hear about Mark is in a letter by Paul to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:11). Paul specifically asks for Mark because he is helpful for his ministry. This was probably about 20 years after Mark had abandoned Paul on their trip. But somehow, Mark had redeemed himself, that even Paul had complete trust in him.

So there are 3 things that we can learn from John Mark. First, we have to keep going. Just because we face some discouragement, whether it's from failure or from others, we can't give up on following God and being used by God. Second, we need to have people in our lives that we can learn from and that can build us up closer to God. I've had several in my life, and now I get to pass that on to others now. I still have people that I look up to that I can call from time to time to help me out and give me some encouragement and direction. Third, we also have to help redeem people. We need to allow people the chance to build trust and build back up. What would have happened if Mark had been so discouraged by Paul that he decided to stop following God as a missionary. Well, we wouldn't have his Gospel. There's no telling how many churches were started because of him and Barnabas. God used Mark in huge ways despite his failings and his immaturity. So, just keep going; get someone in your life who can build you up; and allow people to redeem themselves. See people with the same potential that God sees them, not as what they've done but by what they can become.