Back to the life of Paul, the reason he had to escape out the window is because he was boldly proclaiming the Lord’s name (Acts 9:22-23). The fact that he had to sneak out of a city for his confident and powerful speaking as an ambassador of Christ is an illustration of Great faith. However, the character and power of Jesus shines bright when we take a look at who Saul was just before this event took place. Chapter 9 of Acts starts off with Saul’s eagerness to kill the Lord’s followers (verse 1). He planned to go to Damascus and bring Christians back in chains (verse 2). O’ how the Lord changes the plans and hearts of His people. He turned Saul's life upside down by coming to him the way he was, not waiting untill he was living a perfect life(Acts 9:3-5). Jesus wastes no time guiding Saul's steps right away (9:6). Although He loves us no matter where we are, He desires far better for all of us, He desires for us to prosper in His will (Jeremiah 29:11-12). The Lord also sent someone to follow up with his will for Saul, work on both his physical wants and more importantly his spiritual needs while he was busy praying. Prayer is an important part of one's pursuit towards the purist only true God. He used Ananias a man that had good reason to be scared of Saul for the task of healing and verifying (Acts 9:11-17). You never know how your actions are going to affect someone else's faith, so always try to live in God's will and don't let fear be a reason to shy away from God's commands.
God is active in your life he does not play a passive role, he is continuously reaching out to improve yours and His relationship, which in turns improves your whole life. This is not the only time God unambiguously changes Paul, I am confident in the statement that God had to intervene many times in Paul's life, as He must in all of our life. what makes Paul such a godly man is he listened. If we look back at 2 Corinthians Paul openly admits that he and Timothy were overwhelmed, much like Mark was in Acts chapter 13. Also like Mark they were relying on themselves rather than God (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). This is why I find it no coincidence that in verse 4 of the very same chapter he talks about how God comforts us so that we can comfort others. A message so strong that Paul felt compelled to write to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:15-16) with the same message of forgiving because we are forgiven an estimated five years later. It is my belief that Paul wanted to warn his pupil against making the same mistake he made.
The overwhelming experience Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians could and almost certainly is a factor in Paul and Mark’s reconciliation. He could have better understood what Mark might have gone through and felt the comfort of the Lord and was ready to provide comfort to Mark. As I said earlier having faith in Christ Is not a life time pass to bliss-ville, suffering will come in our life. In fact sometimes we will be faced with afflictions because of our faith. God does not orchestrate evil or hardships, but he will make good come out of any situation when you give your life to Him. This good can happen situationally but even more often, He corrects our outlook and/or our priorities. In Paul and Timothy’s example their suffering leads to knowledge of how to rely on God, a life lesson of forgiveness and in this case God even rescued them from their dangerous situation. This improvement through trials takes a trust in God to guide you (Isaiah 58:11).
This reunion in faith is made apparent when Paul writes 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 11 “…Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in my ministry.” This one verse might not seem like much more than a simple invitation by itself or even in context of the whole book of Timothy. However as I hope to have proven, when looked at as part of a big picture this kind gesture of friendship is turned into a potent representation of magnificent reconciliation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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