Alan Bellshaw (Community Mission Facilitator, Salvation Army, Fauldhouse):
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
When I was a boy in my hometown of
Rothesay, we often spent time down at the harbour watching the
boats come and go—especially the fishing boats, either as they
were preparing to go out to sea or when they brought in their
catch.
When there was a low tide or the
tide was right out in the inner harbour, we used to watch as
the fishermen cleaned the exteriors of their boats, and we
wondered what they were doing. Then we noticed the barnacles
that they were removing.
You may not have spent any time
looking at or thinking about barnacles, but they are
interesting creatures. A type of crustacean, they survive by
attaching themselves to any solid surface, whether that be a
rock, a wall, a fishing boat or a liner. They are almost
immovable.
However, barnacles have a dark side.
Removing them from the hulls of ships has a cost. As they
accumulate on a ship’s hull, the ship will travel more slowly
in the water, burning potentially 40 to 45 per cent more fuel
as a result. A cost has to be paid because of these creatures.
For the fisherman, the barnacles contribute little but cost
them a lot by causing unnecessary drag.
Christians believe that, rather than
dragging others back, we are to be encouragers. In scripture,
we read of a man named Joseph. So remarkable was his lifestyle
that the disciples renamed him Barnabas, which means ?“son of
encouragement”. Encouragers are givers. They build people up.
They urge people to better and higher things. They express
faith in people—they believe the best, see the best and draw
out the best. That is who Barnabas was. He simply enjoyed the
hidden reward that belongs to those who have built up the lives
of others.
I do not believe that God is looking
for barnacles—those who drag other people down. Rather, he is
looking for Barnabases—those who can be called sons or
daughters of encouragement?, who will be contributors to
society and will build people up.
In this season of goodwill to all
and, with all that we are facing in our country, never has it
been more important to be a people who choose joy. The
challenge for us all is this: will we be barnacles that drag
people down, or Barnabases who build people up?
