2 Timothy 4: 11 (NIV)
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
Acts 13:13 (NIV)
From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
Acts 15:38 (NIV)
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.
Colossians 4:10-11 (NIV)
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.
Paul’s death is imminent as he concludes his letter to Timothy. Some of his companions have left him. But perhaps they could not handle the potential persecution that was prevalent in Rome at that time for Christians. Only Luke, author of one of the Gospels, and the book of Acts remains with him. He asks for his beloved Timothy to come as soon as he can, but he also asks him to bring John Mark with him,
This was the same John Mark who had deserted him early on in his ministry. But John Mark had clearly grown and changed. He had grown spiritually and had proved helpful to Paul later on. So helpful in fact that Paul chose him as a help to him in his last days.
We all make mistakes, particularly when we are young in the faith, but even later. The thing we need to do is learn from the mistakes, ask for God’s forgiveness and do our best to grow in our faith as John Mark did. And not only that, as John Mark shows us we can be a help to others. Perhaps, even be encouraged when they see us pick up ourselves up, dust ourselves down and carry on with our life in God. That’s why God allows us to see that the folk in the Bible were just like us.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for not giving up on us when we let You down. I’m grateful for John Mark’s example of growth and maturity. Help me to copy it. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.