The One Who Was Restored

Has someone let you down? Has a friendship been strained or broken? God is NOT done writing their story or yours. There can be restoration.

The One Who Was Restored

This week's devotions are written by my friend Jessica Hermann, former director of our college ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church.

- Pastor Danny

This week, we're looking at the people Paul mentions in his final words of 2 Timothy.

If you aren't familiar with the rest of the Bible, these are just random names on the page. In fact, most of the people mentioned in these final verses are not people that we know a lot about. We see some names only here and see others mentioned only once or twice elsewhere. In verse 11, however, Paul mentions Mark, and we know quite a bit more about the story of Mark.

2 Timothy 4:11: "Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry."

What a lovely compliment for Mark. Paul sees him as very useful in ministry. But this verse is far more for us than a nice compliment or endorsement of Mark and his ministry. It is evidence of redemption, forgiveness, sanctification, and the grace of God.

Mark, also called John (known to some, therefore, as John Mark), was Barnabas' cousin and coworker with Paul and Barnabas in the ministry. He accompanied them on their first missionary journey, but he left the mission part-way through. Evidently, his leaving was not on totally good terms, since the next time Paul and Barnabas went on such a trip, they argued over Mark:

"Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.' Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord." (Acts 15:36-40)

Mark's departure from the mission work caused Paul to not trust him in future service. It even caused a rift between Barnabas and Paul as mission partners. Yet the Gospel continued to go forth, and the Lord used the situation to multiply the number of mission teams going out. However, as a reader, I felt this cloud of mistrust and failure still looming overhead. Then, much later, near the end of Paul's life in our passage for this week, we read in 2 Timothy that Paul calls Mark, "useful to me in ministry." We don't know the middle of the story. We don't know the details of Mark's maturation and sanctification and the forgiveness and reconciliation between these men of God. But praise God that it happened.

Has someone let you down? Has someone not fulfilled what you felt they ought to or made a commitment and not followed through? Has a friendship of yours been strained or broken? Have someone's actions in spiritual immaturity led you to lose your trust in them?

God is NOT done writing their story. Is that person you? God is not done writing your story. The journey of following Jesus is just that: a journey, full of ups and downs, with a lot of learning and growth along the way. One failure does not stop the calling God has placed on your life. In the process of learning, we may burn some bridges. God, however, can take the ashes left behind and rebuild what was broken to be more beautiful than before. Mark grew in his faith and in his work as a minister. Not to mention he wrote the Gospel of Mark too! Paul reconciled and forgave, and the Lord continued to use both men for His glory, both separately and, amazingly, together!

Trust today that God isn't done writing your story or that of those in your life.