St. Barnabas saw the potential is Saul of Tarsus and worked to rehabilitate his reputation among the first generation of believers. Saul became Paul and eventually the two of them became partners in mission. The Acts of the Apostles reports that at some point Paul and Barnabas had a falling out — apparently over another young protege of Barnabas that Paul did not think worth rehabilitating! Maybe that makes Barnabas the patron saint of difficult friends. We all have friends that take an effort to stay connected with. However, those connections can be of God as we read in Acts: “The Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.'” The Holy Spirit works to make our difficult friendship occasions of grace as well.
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By Church Staff