The God Of Second Chances

When we left Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark in the previous post, Paul and Barnabas had separated their missionary efforts, Paul going one way with Silas, and Barnabas going another with John Mark. All because Paul had given up on John Mark because John Mark had quit on him on a previous journey.

From a casual glance, we might assume that God doesn't bless quitters. But let's dig into this story a bit deeper. Somehow Paul and John Mark were reconciled. When Paul writes one of his prison epistles, this one to the church at Colossee, he writes in Colossians 4:10: “Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas's cousin. And as you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way.”

And then there is moving request by Paul in his final letter to his young protege, Timothy, where he says in 2 Timothy 4:11: “Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you
 come, for he will be helpful to me.”

Again, as Perry Noble writes in Unleash: "Paul, who had once given up on John Mark, wanted him to be with him in his last days. Why? I believe the apostle Paul understood that even though he'd given up
on John Mark, God hadn't."

I think there are two valuable lessons in this amazing story of falling down and getting back up:

1) Be careful who you quit on...you may need them in your life later.
2) God never quits on you..."Mark quit on God, but God never quit on him. He hasn't quit on you, either.
Do you think John Mark ever dreamed he'd be chosen by God to pen one of the accounts of Jesus' life in our Bible today? Do you think Peter ever imagined he'd be allowed to lead the church after adamantly denying Christ three times? Do you think David ever thought he'd be known as a man after God's heart after he committed adultery and murder?
 Of course not! All of them probably thought it was game over, but God didn't.
God will do what He needs to do to correct us and get us back on the right path, but He will never give up on us."