With a Subtitle: When death and rage closed in, Stephen looked only to Christ and His glory.
A brief Excerpt: We love to watch the wreckage, but Stephen looked past the rage to the risen Christ. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, our journey through this virus can bring God the same glory and honor.
Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Acts 7:55, “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
Background
There is this tendency in us as humans to want to see the carnage. An ambulance and an injured body quickly become more interesting to passersby than hurrying to their intended destination. In the wake of natural disasters, we will watch for hours the footage of the destruction wreaked by the wind or water or fire. Even on a more personal level, few of us can ignore the disruption when we overhear or catch a glimpse of some form of dispute or disagreement between individuals out in a public setting. And in those unfortunate cases when the ire is directed at us, it not only gets our attention, it usually causes our blood pressure to rise and our fangs to show. A few short years ago, updates regarding the coronavirus, or COVID-19, filled the bulk of every newscast from sources local, national, and international. Many day’s totals reported over 300,000 cases in the US, while the number of people who died fairly early on quickly approached 10,000. Even more startling was the statistic that the number of cases in America was doubling every five days. That meant that at that rate, our entire population would be infected by the end of May, a mere few months since its discovery. And likewise, at the same rate, over 9 million of us would be dead. Now, there was no indication that the virus would spread unabated and reach every one of us. Most of us were taking drastic measures, some voluntary and some involuntary, to help stop the pandemic. But it’s easy to see why this killer was getting the attention it did and wasn’t dismissed as some over-hyped version of the flu.
Application
But in all its heinousness, COVID-19 is no worse than the hatred and furor and rage that killed Stephen. But let us notice that as the council became infuriated and was on the verge of rushing upon him to murder him, Stephen’s attention was heavenward, beholding God and the risen Messiah who was about to escort him to glory. In the face of all that ugliness and horror and impending doom, Stephen noticed only the King and His majesty. It didn’t save his life on earth, but it helped him end it full of grace, compassion, and forgiveness, even for his killers. And if we’ll keep looking to Jesus, our journey through our own “viruses” can bring God the same glory and honor.
Charge
As we seek Him today, keep your eyes focused on Christ, and let His compassion and mercy be your compassion and mercy.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org