Barnabas was one cool guy. He hung out mostly in Antioch, was mistaken for Zeus, and had sweet hobbies like getting beat up and thrown in prison. He vouched for Saul/Paul when the other apostles were too afraid to accept him, sang songs that literally rocked, and argued with Paul over whether or not to give John Mark a second chance. But what I like most about Barnabas is that his name isn't really Barnabas. Acts 4:36 calls him, "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means 'son of encouragement')."
The encouragement of Barnabas was so much his defining characteristic that the apostles gave it to him as a name. Barnabas's identity was wrapped around his gift to build up those around him, filling them with courage and strength. He had an ability to call out the gold from within people, even when nobody else (or even the individuals themselves) couldn't see anything shining.
I want to be like that.
I want to build up the people around me rather than tear them down, to see the best in them and call it out, to comfort and counsel and summon courage inside them - not so much to create something, but rather to point out what was always there.
I want to be a daughter of encouragement.
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