“Filled with Grace and Power” by Beth
DeCristofaro
Stephen, filled with grace and power, was
working great wonders and signs among the people. They threw him out of the
city and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet
of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning
Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
(Acts 6:8, 7:58-59)
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
(Matthew 10:22)
Piety
Lord Jesus, fill me with the desire to follow
you. Lead me in responding to you in everyone I meet. Grace me with the
perseverance to endure to the end with you. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,
which is mine only as a gift from you.
Study
Yesterday a baby was welcomed with awe, some
exhaustion, and full delight. Today a
violent death is described of one who loved that baby. This jarring juxtaposition would not have
surprised Jesus. Much of his ministry
was teaching the steep road that his followers would have to take. His own life displayed this. He was born into poverty and his life’s walk
led him through persecution, rejection, and denial to a violent murder. Stephen’s death reminds us of the
counter-culture call of Jesus and his willingness to walk that walk before us.
Every day we are offered opportunities to
walk with Christ albeit in much less fatal ways, of course, than Stephen. Living with chronic illness calls for an awareness
to live without inflicting one’s suffering on another. In our advantaged society, we can choose to
share what we have with those who have not – without judgment. We can refrain from taking part in or tacitly
ignoring the “stoning” of someone though gossip or forwarding hurtful social
media memes. We might put our Christian
call in front of institutional traditions or political agendas. We can remain hopeful that even if we fall,
as did a young man named Saul, God can save. We can sing in our hearts
with Stephen in all moments, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Action
What are you willing to sacrifice because of
His name? In what ways are you enduring
to the end? In what ways might you suffer
more closely with Jesus?
Illustration: By Zeromancer44
- Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18210922
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