Disagreement

       Do Christians always agree with one another?  We often try to maintain a good will between one believer and another, but it doesn't always work out that way.  The church was young in the days of Paul and Barnabas.  We sometimes refer to it as the "primitive" church.  It is where all things started and in the nearest time from the ascension of Christ from the earth.  We may think that this would be the perfect time in the life of the church.  I seem to find myself in situations where someone has a much different opinion about my actions or disagrees with me in one thing or another.  We go to a new church as we have done many times in our ministries and there is what is called the "honeymoon."    This is the time that you have a perfect relationship with everyone in the church. It is indeed, the "honeymoon."  Things, begin to change however, when you start promoting something, teaching something or just generally start making changes in the church.  We often found that it was then that you could say, "Well, the honeymoon is over."  In our section today, Paul and Barnabas had already made their first missionary journey and were about to embark on the second journey.   Acts 15:37-38 says, " And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.   But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work."  
        Barnabas really wanted  Mark to go along with them on the second journey but Paul was steadfastly against taking Mark on the second trip.  Since Mark had not completed the first journey, but went back to Jerusalem, Paul didn't want to take him on the second journey.  What is interesting and important here is that two believers, Paul and Barnabas, had a disagreement that was so sharp that they went their own ways.  There is no discussion as to who was right and who was wrong.  They had a disagreement.  Have you ever had a disagreement with another believer?  We probably all have had a disagreement at one time or another.  We learn from other Scriptures that Mark ends up being important to Paul in the latter years of his ministry so his opinion had changed over the usefulness of mark in the ministry.   Praise God today that He uses us in His ministry to reach the lost souls in the world.