December 11, 2008 - Acts 7:57-58a

“At this they covered their ears and , yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him.” Acts 7:57-58a.
The Hebrew leadership can stand it no more. Stephen’s spouting out blasphemous statements, and they do all that they can to avoid hearing his comments. In the heat of their emotion, they pounce on Stephen, drag him outside of the city walls, and begin to hurl stones at him in order to kill him.
Stephen made his stand for Jesus and His kingdom, and now he was paying the ultimate price for his obedience. It is interesting that God did not deliver Stephen from paying this price. He did deliver him through it. In Stephen’s death, God brought him into his eternal reward, so even though he was not set free in this life, he was set free from this life.
Stephen’s story sobers me from flowery pictures of the “perfect Christian life.” This is an emotional, riotous event that ends with Stephen’s death, with plenty of troubles to follow for the young followers of Jesus. While my daily walk with Jesus Christ doesn’t have the drama of this scene, it is important for me to remember the “win/win” of the life and death issues of following Jesus. As Paul states, with all seriousness, in his message from prison, “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) If I make a stand for God’s kingdom, God might spare my life in this world or He might allow me to be released from this world to enter into His eternal purposes for me. I face the tension of living in this world or going to my eternal reward in the next.
Questions to consider: Am I living my life with my eyes on Jesus or the things of this world? Am I living in such a way that I can say, “to live is Christ, to die is gain?” What would it take for me to have a heart like Stephen, who stood firm in the face of death?
Prayer: Father, give me eyes to keep the goal of Christ and Your kingdom in my vision and the heart to follow after Him with all that I am. Amen.