Encouragement can be awkward. We don’t really know what to say, so we just make pleasant comments about superficial things. Paul seems to have in mind something deeper when he writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up...” When Paul writes those words, perhaps his friend Barnabas came to mind. Barnabas was a notoriously encouraging person.

THE BIG IDEA: Encouragement must take place in order to finish the race.