Precious Moments That Count For EternitySample

Forgive, Like He Did

From the days of the early church, whenever there was persecution, the church grew. Around the world, the Gospel has most often taken root in places prepared by the blood of the martyrs. But before people can die for the gospel, they must live for the gospel.
One way God trains his servants is to place them in significant positions. Stephen was an effective administrator. He was named among the managers for food distribution in the early church. He was also a powerful speaker. When Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin, the accusation against him was the same that the religious leaders had used against Jesus.
While they were stoning him to death, he prayed for their forgiveness. His final words like Jesus’ show how much he had changed in a short time. Just as Jesus uttered on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”, Stephen said something similar, “Lord do not hold this sin against them.” His death had a lasting impact on young Saul (Paul) of Tarsus, who would move from being a violent persecutor of Christians, to becoming one of the greatest champions of the Gospel the church has ever known. Stephen’s life is a continual challenge to all Christians. He did not really defend himself. Instead, he seized the opportunity to summarize his teaching about Jesus. When we witness for Christ, we don’t need to be on the defensive. Instead we can simply share our faith. Stephen was the first to die for the Christian faith, and his sacrifice poses questions to us. Will we forgive others like Jesus asked us to? How many risks do we take in being His followers? Would we be willing to die, and more importantly, live for Him?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, give us the same boldness and forgiving heart that Stephen had. In Jesus’ name. Amen.