News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Acts 11:22-24
“By far the greatest thing a man can do for his city is to be a good man. Simply to live there as a good man, as a Christian man of action and practical citizen, is the first and highest contribution anyone can make to its salvation. Let a city be a Sodom or a Gomorrah, and if there be but ten righteous men in it, if will be saved. Simple, old-fashioned Christianity did mighty work for the world in that it produced good men. It is goodness that tells, goodness first and goodness last. Good men even with small views are immeasurably more important to the world than small men with great views.”
Finan in Celtic Daily Prayer (New York: Harper Collins, 2002) 707.
I’m in Seattle at meetings with good men (and good women). They are encouragers like Barnabas. I like how Finan describes good men as people who bring about salvation for cities.
It’s a cool picture, and happens not because of their power but their humility. They don’t save it with their strength but rather their discipline to follow God’s standards.
It’s a good feeling to wrap up a board commitment and pass the baton to good people. Their mighty work, I pray, will build upon our founding service and bless many.
As our being precedes our doing, Finan is right on to say that the first and best contribution we can make is to “be” a good person where God has planted us. Let’s do it.