Fence Posts

I was out for a walk this morning and I walked by a baseball field.  I noticed the fence had posts to support it every 8 feet.  The fence is strongest at the fence post.  One foot away from the post, the fence is a little weaker.  Another foot away from the post and the fence is weaker still.  At eight feet from the last fence post, the fence would collapse without the next fence post to hold it up and support it.

If you have ever pushed a chain link fence at the fence post, you know that you can’t move it.  But between the posts, there is a lot more “give” in the fence.  I used to climb chain link fences all the time as a kid.  It took a lot more than a fence to keep me from trespassing!  If you remember climbing chain link fences as a kid, you always climbed the fence at the post because that’s where the fence is the strongest. 

Looking at that fence somehow got me to thinking about our walk with Christ.  When we are regularly reading our Bibles and spending time with God, we are like the fence by the fence post.  We are strong, supported and even immovable.  The same happens when we spend time with other Christians and are encouraged and built up by them too.  When we fall out of the habit of reading our Bibles and regular prayer; when we are isolated from other believers who encourage us and build us up, we drift from the fence post. We come weak and unsupported. There is “give” in our spiritual lives.

Barnabas was known as an encourager.  In fact, his name means, “Son of Encouragement.”  We will encounter Him as we study the Book of Acts.  In Chapter 4, he was the first one mentioned who sold his property and donated the money to the poor.  In Chapter 9, when all of the apostles were afraid to meet Paul, Barnabas brought Paul to them and vouched for him.  In Chapter 11, Barnabas helped collect money for the poor in Jerusalem and was entrusted to bring it there from Antioch.  In Chapter 15, after John Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, Barnabas was willing to give him a second chance on the next missionary journey.

Barnabas was like a fence post to the people he encountered.  He encouraged them, supported them, cared for them and gave them second chances after failure.  People were always better off for having been around Barnabas.  He was the kind of guy who made you feel better about yourself and gave you strength to carry on.  We all need Barnabas’s in our lives. Who among us hasn’t had times of spiritual dryness?  Who among us hasn’t suffered from physical or emotional pain at some time.  When you are going through trying times, know who your Barnabas’s are.  

As importantly, we all need to be Barnabas’s to others.  If you look around, you will find so many believers who need encouragement.  There is so much sadness and hopelessness in the world today.  There probably isn’t anyone that you know who isn’t going through something that is causing them fear or anxiety.  Maybe they have drifted from Christ as a result and are like the part of the fence that is far from the post.  They are easily moved and have lots of “give” in their spiritual lives.  I pray that we will look for opportunities to step into people’s lives and support them, give them encouragement.  It’s our job to be the fence post that holds them up when they are weak and to remind them of the promises that exist in Jesus.  Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead.  Our lives are in His hands and as believers, our eternal salvation is secure.  To those fence posts, we must secure ourselves and each other.