Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
2 Timothy 4:11 NIV
When Paul wrote this letter, he was in prison, expecting to be executed soon. And he encouraged Timothy to come and visit him before his end came. Paul asked Timothy to bring a few things with him when he came, his cloak and scrolls. And Paul also requested Timothy to bring Mark with him.
In some way, Mark had become helpful to Paul in his ministry. While it is possible that this was a different Mark, I like to think that it is the same person we last saw in Acts 15:37-40. Mark had started with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. But he had left them and returned home to Jerusalem at some point along the way. This angered Paul so much that he broke up with Barnabas rather than take Mark with them on their second trip.
Don’t Be Defined by Your Past
But something happened in the intervening years. Mark matured in his faith. Or Paul mellowed with age. Or, more likely, some of both. But whatever the cause, Paul’s opinion of Mark changed dramatically. He went from being a deserter to being helpful. His past failures were left in the past. And he was valued for what he had become rather than condemned for what he had been.
Don’t let your past failures define who you are. You can always grow and become useful to our Lord. And don’t hold the past against others who have grown and learned from their mistakes. Embrace who they have become rather than what they were.
