A hero of faith

The following was written by my friend, Jeff McGuire. He is an Ohio State, Nascar, and Country music fan. Other than that he is a really guy, and I really appreciate what he has to say.

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Acts 6:5 - 7:60. Stephen

When you think of the great men of Christianity who comes to mind??? the disciples, Paul maybe Abraham or Moses? Stephen is probably not one of the first people to come to mind. But what a man he was, he is truly one of the pillars of Christianity. He is only mentioned in the book of acts and scarcely more than a chapter there.

How do you want to be remembered? What is the first thing that comes to peoples minds when they are asked to describe you? Would they describe you by profession, looks, family, wealth, maybe personality?

The first thing that came to Luke’s mind when he described Stephen was that Stephen is “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 6:5) How wonderful. I only hope that I am remembered in the same light. The problem is that my desire to be remembered as such is fueled by my sinful nature. The next thing we learn about Stephen is in Acts 6:8, here we learn that he is “a man full of God’s grace and power”. What more could one aspire to be than a man full of faith, The Holy Spirit, grace and God’s power. In these two verses we learn enough about Stephen to know that he is truly one of the great men of the Bible. There is so much more, Stephen emulates Jesus in his very being.

Members of the synagogue argued with Stephen but could not compete with his wisdom, which came from the spirit. This angered them so much that they brought forth false charges against him and brought him before the Sanhedrin. When his accusers presented their false charges, Stephen’s face was like an Angel. Although he knew that this trial could lead to his death he was totally at peace. Most would be trembling with a mix of emotions ranging from fear to rage to hatred towards the accusers but Stephen quietly waited his turn to speak. Then he proceeded to walk them through the scriptures from Abraham to Jesus. Stephen was bold enough to throw out some accusations of his own. He accused them of resisting the Holy Spirit, killing the prophets, and of betraying and murdering the righteous one of God! The Sanhedrin was mortified they gnashed their teeth and covered their ears as they seized Stephen to stone him. Stephen with face like an Angel looked up and said "look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Then he prayed that God would forgive them and asked Jesus to receive his spirit.

I pray that I would handle that kind of situation with such dignity and grace, giving all glory to God. Stephen is a role model for us all.

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Thanks Jeff, Good insight.