Acts 6:11 – 7:17
Stephen was a disciple, we don’t know when he became one but it must have been a while because he had been chosen to be one of the first deacons chosen in the church. In light of our limited view of eternity his story seems tragic but is it really?
In Romans 12:18 Paul instructs us to, “be at peace with all men as much as it pertains to us.” While we may walk with the shoes of peace it does not mean that everyone will respond appropriately. There are some, like Stephen found out, that no matter how peaceful and loving you are they have another agenda. Stephen’s story seems tragic but is it really?
We know that despite his sharing Christ from Abraham to Stephen’s present time, the greatest story ever told, the Sanhedrin was determined to stone him. How do we know this? His story is recorded here. Hundreds of million have read this story and have had the strength to stand because of it. The apostle Paul was impacted as he witnessed this execution and look what we have through his life. Our lives are eternal from conception and we must always view things in light of eternity. We can easily get caught up in the day to day however we must keep in mind that as Christians, everything has eternal impact. Stephen’s life and death changed the lives of millions.
Don’t become frustrated when people don’t respond to you the way you want them to. Keep your eyes on eternity. Your story, your life is going to impact people. Make it an impact for the Lord. Make it an impact that will affect people for more that just today. Your story can change the world. There are those in this world whom you will not be able to be at peace but it is not as much as it pertains to them, but as much as it pertains to you!
No comments:
Post a Comment