What Are You Looking At?

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God. "Look, he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." -Acts 7:54-56 (NIV)

In today's suggested scripture reading, we are introduced to Stephen. He's one of seven people chosen to supervise the daily distribution of food to the needy. According to Acts, the criteria for being chosen for this important ministry is being full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. Luke (believed to be the writer of Acts) goes on to say that Stephen is full of grace and power and able to perform great wonders and signs among the people.

Unfortunately, Stephen's ministry meets with resistance because he is calling into question some of their practices and some of their understandings of who Jesus was and what Jesus came to do. Unable to match Stephen's wisdom and Spirit, they form a plot against him and they stone him to death.

What I find so amazing is that, when faced with an angry mob that is gnashing its teeth, a mob that hurls him off a cliff and starts throwing huge boulders down on top of him to silence his witness once and for all, it's as if Stephen doesn't see the mob at all. Instead, we're told that he looks up to heaven and sees the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen asks Jesus to receive his spirit and that Jesus not hold the sin of his murderers against them.

I suspect that all of us have felt attacked on some level or another. It's so easy to focus on the person or the thing that is attacking us. But I want to look beyond those things. I want my ultimate focus to be on Jesus.

May God grant you the grace to look beyond your troubles today to see the glory of God and your Savior Christ standing up for you in glory.


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Tomorrow's readings are Job 3-4 and Acts 8-9.