So much of the book of Acts is so encouraging that it comes as quite a shock to see Luke including the closing verses of chapter 15, where we read of a heated dispute between Paul and Barnabas.
Yet we need a realistic appreciation of how easy it is for the closest of friends in the leadership of a local church not only to disagree and fall out, but to divide with bitterness and go their own separate ways. And the Holy Spirit does so much more than show us the dangers of such division. He shows us the underlying attitudes that can cause divisions to arise over such practical issues as the suitability of a young man like John Mark for responsibility in an outreach venture.
It is easy to see how the great apostolic leaders disagreed as to whether John Mark was the best man to accompany them as they set out to visit the churches they had planted on their first missionary journey. Paul did not want to take him because he had let them down before. The work was hard enough without that kind of disappointment. They needed someone who had proved himself under pressure. Barnabas, on the other hand, clearly felt that John Mark had learned his lesson, and that this was an opportunity for him to prove himself and for them to display Christ-like forgiveness.
