Son of Encouragement
Reading Acts 4 is exhilarating. Re-reading it today was breathtaking. The Apostles declare the supremacy of Christ in salvation (Acts 4:12). They are threatened to stop preaching (Acts 4:18). Peter, by the way, knows in the back of his head that one of these days he’s going to die on a cross (John 21:18-19). They boldly declare that they will never stop preaching the Gospel! (Acts 4:19-20) They go home from the threats and pray for increased boldness rather than pray the trial away. (Acts 4:29) And then at the end of the chapter, we see that they give a nickname to a guy named Joseph. They call him the son of encouragement (Acts 4:36). They literally change his name since he’s so well known for his encouragement. I was struck by thinking about just how much encouragement Peter and the other apostles needed during those days. Barnabas was truly a gift from God. Life was hard. Yes, there was excitement. Yes, there was so much motivation to take the Gospel and share with people about what...