being like stephen.

Being Like Stephen.

Who’s Stephen you may ask? Stephen is this awesome guy in the Bible. Let me tell you about him. In Acts, he is described as a faithful man of God. He was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). He was chosen as 1 of 7 to help the apostles look after widows and help the poor. However, Stephen did more than that. He shared Jesus Christ wherever he went.

Not everyone liked this. Opposition came and Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin, a council of Jewish religious leaders. He was accused of speaking against the Jewish holy place and against their law. The Sanhedrin asked Stephen if these accusations were true. So, Stephen responded. He responded in boldness about the history of Israel, and the wrong they had done. It wasn’t received well by the Jews.

Because of this, the religious leaders stoned Stephen. He became the first martyr—the first to die for Christ.

There’s a lot we can learn from Stephen. First, am I willing to die for my Savior? Stephen was. He knew his Savior and was willing to stand firm for Him, no matter the cost. He knew that this life was not about him but about Jesus. What about us? Are we willing to be persecuted for Jesus? Are we willing to die and stand up for Him?

Second, there is another piece of scripture that comes to mind when I think of Stephen. It’s Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?”

Stephen understood that. He understood that people aren’t going to know Jesus unless we go out and talk about him. That’s what we are called to do, but are we doing it? Or are we getting so comfortable in our everyday life that we lose focus of what this life is actually about?

When is the last time you shared the Gospel with someone? Everywhere we go is a mission field—Starbucks, school, work, etc. We need to share Christ’s love everywhere we go. I don’t mean shove it down someone’s throat. I mean, build relationships, love people that are hard to love, and respond how Christ would respond.

Third, when we look at Stephen, we see a faithful man of God. How do people see us? Do people see us as a faithful woman or man of God? Or do they see someone who is angry all the time, someone who is bitter all the time, someone who is unfriendly, etc?

Let the light of Christ, shine through you. Let people see that in you. Yes, we are all human, and we all fail and aren’t perfect, but how do we react to certain things? Do we react in anger, bitterness, etc? We want people to see Christ in us—hands down.

The Lord has shown me a lot through Stephen and others in the Bible. The one common thread through them all is that they loved Jesus and lived boldly for Him. They were even willing to die for Jesus. So, let’s learn and pray to be more like Stephen.