We don’t get to know a whole lot about Stephen, but we do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a man, as the scripture says, who was “full of faith.”
As he sat before the council with the face of an angel while false charges were being thrown at them he did so because he knew the end result. They gave him a chance to answer the charges and he preached an amazing sermon outlining the Old Testament. At the very end he boldly asserted that these were the men who are killed the God sent Messiah.
Enraged, they took Stephen and stoned him to death. As he lay beaten, bruised and bleeding he echoed his Saviour’s word with his dying breath – “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”
To the very end he was a man of courage and compassion, boldness and blessing. When we are attacked we tend to think things like, “they can’t treat me that way.” Stephen thought, “Lord, forgive them.”
Which response shows faith and confidence in the Lord?
No comments:
Post a Comment