Stephen and the Amazing Grace We Don’t Deserve

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Acts 6:8, “And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.”

Background

Stephen was clearly a remarkable man. Chosen from among his peers to help take care of church business, he fulfilled the requirements of having a good reputation, and being full of the Spirit and wisdom. He was also described as being full of faith, grace and power. And as he began his defense before the high priest and council, he was seen as having the face of an angel. Upon concluding his speech immediately before his death, he gazed up into the heavens and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand. And as the stones were pummeling his body, he begged God to forgive his murderers for their violent hatred.

And just like that, even before we can get to know him, Stephen is gone. Taken away was all of the excellence that God had poured into him even as he was just beginning to minister to the people. Proclaiming the way of salvation and performing great deeds led to the end of his life as opposed to blessing him with a different way of life. It sounds like, and in so many ways is, a tragic story of good and right losing out to evil and wrong. To sum up the thoughts of many, Stephen didn’t deserve to be destroyed like this. You and I, and so many more like us, will be and do far less than Stephen yet will avoid every bit of the pain and brutality that ravaged him. And so, who deserves what?

Application

In our heart of hearts, we know we deserve God’s wrath because of our sin. We know for every good deed and act of consideration there is a thought and a word that betrays our fallen nature. Even were we able to perform great wonders and invoke wisdom beyond all our detractors, there would still be plenty of room and time for our selfishness to show itself. That is why we call God’s grace amazing. The ledger is slanted so drastically the wrong way that nothing short of God’s love could make it right. And so, we must resist the temptation to declare what we and others deserve. Much good gets snuffed out, and a lot of horrible lasts a long time. But what is unchanging is that God deserves our devotion and faithfulness. When you see the balance tilt off-kilter in the treatment of others around you, let it remind you to give God all He is worth.

Charge

As we seek Him today, forget about holding onto what you think you deserve, and thank God that the cross keeps you from getting what you do deserve.

Editor Comment: This devotional challenges us to stop measuring life by what we think we deserve and instead rest in the undeserved grace that saved us through the cross.