St Barnabas

Long ago, about 2,000 years ago, after Resurrection of Jesus Christ, there lived a good and faithful man named Joseph. He was from an island called Cyprus.

Joseph loved God very much and believed that Jesus was the Savior. Because he was so kind and helped others grow in faith, and because Joseph was so good at making people feel brave and happy, his friends gave him a new name: Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement.”

And that is exactly what he did—he encouraged others to follow Jesus.When the first Christians were worried or scared, Barnabas was there to say, "Don't give up! Jesus is with us!"

At this time, it was not easy to be a Christian. Many people were afraid.There was a man named Saint Paul the Apostle who had once been very mean to Christians. Even though Paul had changed, the other Christians were still afraid of him.But Barnabas was brave and kind. He brought Paul to the other believers and said, “Do not be afraid. He has seen the Lord and loves Him now.”Because of Barnabas, Paul was welcomed, and he became a great teacher of the faith.

Barnabas loved helping people. One day, he sold his land and gave the money to help the Christian community in Jerusalem. He also traveled to many places, teaching people about Jesus.In a city called Antioch, Barnabas and Paul taught so many people about Jesus that the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians,” which means “followers of Christ.”Barnabas and Paul traveled from town to town teaching about God, helping the poor, encouraging people to stay strong in faith.Once, they even healed a man who could not walk. When the people saw this, they thought Barnabas and Paul were gods!But Barnabas quickly said, “We are not gods—we are servants of the one true God!

At one time, Barnabas and Paul had a disagreement. They did not agree about traveling with a helper named Mark.So, they went different ways for a while.But later, they forgave each other and became friends again.This shows us that even holy people sometimes disagree—but they can forgive and make peace again.