Stephen is one of my favorite men of the Bible. He showed a great amount of trust and obedience towards Christ and deeply desired to share the Gospel with others. He was one of the seven men to be chosen out of the group to help serve others. Acts 6:3, “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.” (ESV) Can you imagine having that much drive and passion for the Lord? When others see you, they see Christ dwelling so passionately and it absolutely overflows in your actions!?
Not too long ago, I was in a city down south stuck in a truck stop for the weekend. Being a person that enjoys walking so much, I decided to ask the people inside the gas station of any good places to go for a walk. Both ladies quickly expressed not to leave the truck stop. A little disappointed with the dangers of leaving the truck stop, I did what any sensible fool would do. I went for a walk down the road. What’s the worst that could happen, right? A couple miles down the road I realized that this was a really bad side of the city. Being determined (or maybe stubborn would be a better word) I pressed on with my walk. I looked around and I saw so many broken people that I just knew needed the Lord. My walk continued.
The longer I walked, the more it looked to be an area I should NOT be in. I always stayed on the main road all the way down. Trash was everywhere and the path on the side of the road was small and very close to the traffic. My goal was to walk to the ocean which was only about five to six miles from the truck stop. I came to a point where I was getting some pretty dirty looks and strange expressions. Time to turn around! I quickly started walking back to the truck stop. It was a looong walk down the road. Throughout the walk back, thoughts of getting mugged and robbed came to my mind. “what would I have done?” I just kept walking. During the walk I had a couple of people ask if I was lost, asking if I needed help and some other interesting requests. I pressed on keeping to myself fearing what could happen to me.
Then it hit. No, not a rock. Something that hit so hard that was hidden all along during my walk. The name of the road. St. Stephens Road. This whole time I’m walking on a road in dedication to a man that was unashamed and bold to outpour his love for Christ to others no matter the circumstance. This whole time I’m thinking that I might get beat up or hurt and here I’m walking on the road that has the name of a man that was stoned to death for sharing His faith.
That walk will be one of the most memorable walks I have ever taken. When I arrived back at the truck stop there was a police officer there that I struck up a conversation with. After expressing where I took a walk to, the officer very sternly expressed not to do that again. He gave me stories of people being stolen to people getting killed. I smiled and thanked him for his warning. The next day, I felt that passion back inside my heart to go back. This time with a different motive and a Bible in my hand.
What if we all had the passion and drive that Stephen had? A man that had no concern what people could ever do to Him. Passion that drove Him to share the love of God no matter the cost. I always imagined Stephen as the man that walked into the room you could feel the passion and drive for Christ radiating off of him. A humble man that dearly desired to live his life for Christ, even if it meant losing it.
There are so many lost and hurting people in this world. People that don’t have the love of Christ dwelling within them and don’t have that hope that we have in Jesus. Lets follow the example that Stephen showed us and be bold about telling others about Jesus. Showing grace and love along the way. We hold a gift that goes beyond any comprehension. This gift isn’t just any gift, but the gift of showing someone the importance and the joy of following Christ and having a personal relationship with Jesus. Don’t worry what people are going to think of you! Let God work in your heart and keep seeking after what God has designed you to do! Use those gifts to share the Gospel with those around you! There is NO greater joy than sharing the Gospel with others!
In Acts seven verse 58 shows how the Spirit can work. Most of us know the man that held the coats was Saul, and eventually became Paul. God can use you! Saul saw the passion of Stephen. Obviously, we don’t know exactly what Saul was thinking in this time as he continued to persecute Christians afterwards. But God still turned Saul’s heart around and He became one of the biggest influences in sharing the Gospel Gentiles!
The story of Stephen is such a challenge in my own life. To go and share the Gospel and make sure that I am putting Christ first in my life to help others around me. Now I may not have been mugged or beat up when I went out again, but I knew that there were lost people out there that needed Christ and there was no stopping me in telling them. So together, let us go and make disciples of all nations! Let us put the Gospel first and foremost in our lives! There are people all around us that desperately need Jesus!
It’s only a stone’s throw away! 😀
Spiritual Followings 