“When [Barnabas]
arrived and saw the grace of God, he
rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in
firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with
the Holy Spirit and faith. And
a large number of people was added to the Lord.”
Barnabas was a man of affirmation and
encouragement. His very name means
son of encouragement.
In light of his witness to quickly affirm, it is good to
reflect on whether or not we encourage others in our lives. I know I need to continually work on
this. In my heart and mind I am
often grateful for what others do for me, but I must be conscientious in making
these sentiments known explicitly.
When I prepare couples for marriage, I give them a book
called The Five Love Languages by Gary
Chapman. His theory is that each
of us tend to show love and receive love in five different (though not
exclusive) ways: physical touch, acts of service, giving gifts, quality time
and words of affirmation. While
this book is written specifically for couples, I recommend this book to
everyone as it contains many good nuggets for any relationship. Chapman’s work only strengthens the
need to be affirming in our lives.
Each of us (whether or not our primary love language is affirmation)
appreciates kind words.
Such words are a crucial part of sharing the Good News
of Jesus Christ. Thanks to
Barnabas’ loving appeal, “…a large number
of people was added to the Lord.”
In this spirit, I would like to thank you for your faithfulness to
coming to Mass each day. It
inspires me and makes my experience of celebrating Mass all the more.
May we, like St. Barnabas, be sons and daughters of
encouragement.
No comments:
Post a Comment