Have you Heard about John Mark’s Second Chance?
By LIllian Penner
Recently, a friend shared how her granddaughter refused to go to church since the pandemic. Her granddaughter didn’t want her to talk about Jesus. The grandmother’s heart was broken. Then I membered about John Mark in Acts 13. John Mark assisted Paul and Barnabas on a mission trip. After they had ministered in a couple of towns, John Mark left them and returned home to Jerusalem.
Later in Acts chapter 15, we read that Paul and Barnabas wanted to leave on another mission trip. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along again, but Paul strongly disagreed. After their sharp disagreement, Barnabas separated from Paul, took John Mark with him, and sailed to Cyprus. Paul took Silas with him.
We don’t read in Acts about Barnabas and John Mark’s trip, but we know that he is the same one who wrote the Gospel of Mark, the first gospel written of the four gospels. This story inspired me because it was an example of how God gives people a second chance and blesses them.
Many grandparents have broken hearts as they see their grandchildren and their parents make bad choices and follow the behavior and pattern of the worldly lifestyle. However, I would like to encourage grandparents to continue to pray and show love to them even if you disapprove of their activities and behavior. God can make something good out of their lives; he is an expert life transformer. We read in God’s Word, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all wrong. (1 John 1:9). “God can transform us into a new person” (Romans 12:2).
Pray your grandchildren will be drawn to Jesus with gentle cords of love and experience the reality of Jesus Christ in their lives as they grow strong in their faith.
Lillian Penner is the author of Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for Your Grandchildren in English and Spanish. She has been on staff with the Christian Grandparenting Network prayer ministry for fourteen years, developing prayer cards, grandparents@Prayer groups, and the Grandparenting Day of Prayer. She has a passion for praying intentionally for her grandchildren and desires to share that passion with other grandparents.
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