they did every other missionary. One they called ‘ ‘Self- Appointed Emperor” because they judged him to be living for himself and to be indifferent to the be lievers’ needs. Another they nicknamed ‘‘Old Grand mother” because they saw in his life so much of kindly love and affection. They were impressed by his gentle concern and his wise counsel. Who but a grandma could be so tender and wise? Be it “ Grandma” or “ Emperor” or “ Hawk,” from the night of my discovery of this Chinese custom I have taken more than a casual interest in nicknames. I suppose this is the reason for my excitement when I found that the believers as far back as the first Christian century also passed out nicknames. I also discovered that the names given were descriptive of the character and personality of the men so nick named. For example, Acts 4:36 records the nicknaming of a man named Joseph. As the apostles and believ ers felt the comforting impact of this man’s life and ministry and experienced the warmth of his love they nicknamed him Barnabas, which means “ Son of En couragement.” A quick look at the references to his life in the Bible and one sees why they chose to nickname Joseph “ Son of Encouragement.” Joseph was a well- to-do landowner. No doubt before his conversion, his vision and ambition were to become a wealthy gentle man farmer. The Scripture seems to indicate that he reached his goal. Then in ways we are not told he met the Saviour. His values immediately changed. His affections were no longer set on the world or the things of the world but on eternal things. His actions proved the new direction of his affections. The Scripture records that he “ sold a field which belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:36, 37). Joseph’s lavish generosity overcame the apostles and they were comforted as they saw this demonstra tion of stewardship. They could see that Christ had both his heart and his pocketbook. Through Joseph’s gift, urgent needs were met and the believers in Jerusalem quickly sensed that here was a fellow- believer whose attitude was not, “ What can I get?” but "What can I give?” and they nicknamed him “ Son of Encouragement.” Joseph’s example must have encouraged other believers to think more of giving than getting. At this point one is forced to consider his own attitude in this matter of stewardship. “ Is my giving an example that will encourage my brother to give?" If I am honest with myself I may find that a difficult question to answer. Joseph's generosity in money matters was not the sole reason the believers nicknamed him “ Son of Encouragement.” Scripture tells us that he also main tained a generous attitude toward people. Take, for example, his generous attitude toward Saul, the much- feared persecutor of the church. The Bible tells us 28
that Saul met the Lord in a most startling way while on the road to Damascus. The purpose of Saul’s jour ney was to search out the Christians who had fled there from Jerusalem and returned them to Jeru salem in chains to stand trial and.be imprisoned or killed. That purpose suddenly changed at a road block on the Damascus road. Immediately following his conversion, Saul became a powerful and accepted wit ness in Damascus: “ And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. . . . But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews, which dwelt at Damascus, prov ing that this is very Christ” (Acts 9:20, 22). Saul’s sudden conversion and clear preaching made him many enemies “ who took counsel to kill him.” The danger of death led Saul to return to Jerusalem where he “ assayed to join himself to the disciples” (Acts 9:26). The reaction of tne apostles and believers was one of fear and distrust. They were sure he was a phony, trying to infiltrate their group so as to obtain evidence to be used to accuse them before the religious lead ers, “ and believed not that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). When one remembers that Saul had a record of making “ havoc of the church," one is not overly surprised at the caution on the part of the believers in Jerusalem. At the same time one must take note of the far more generous, more Christlike attitude displayed by Joseph toward this new convert. “ But Joseph took him [Saul], and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus" (Acts 9:27). The confidence Joseph demonstrated toward Saul was a great comfort to this lonely new convert. To the man the Jewish religious leaders now hated and the church leaders didn’t trust, Joseph’s display of confidence made him a “ Son of Encouragement." Furthermore, Joseph’s fearless, generous spirit to ward Saul soon opened the eyes of the believers to what God had done for Saul with the result that we read, "He was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus . . ." (Acts 9:28, 29). Again Joseph had become a “ Son of Encouragement,” not solely to Paul, but to all the believers, through his faith in God and his generous spirit toward man. One cannot help but ponder the unanswerable question, what would have happened to the lonely convert had the “ Son of Encouragement” not taken him in? Would he have had the same world-shaking ministry? And I ask myself the searching question: have I been as generous in my attitude toward men or like the disciples have I failed to take them in? To put it bluntly— what nickname am I earning? We must not drop Joseph too suddenly for if THE KING'S BUSINESS
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