We constantly hear many preachers talk about the father of faith, of Abraham who certainly says the Bible that he was, however I want to highlight today also a great man who proved to be a great hero of faith, I mean the martyr Stephen
The Bible tells us that already on the verge of exhaling his last breath, Esteban cried out to his resurrected savior, He was not being destroyed, the stones that destroyed his body only served to open a new door to reach the presence of his master in whose hands he deposited his spirit, the roars of his enemies could not stifle the cry of triumph of this brave Christian.
Under that stone promontory was not a victim but a hero of the faith, noble example of every follower of Christ.
Esteban died on his knees imploring the same prayer that came from the lips of the Lord Jesus when he was on the cross, "Lord, do not take this sin into account"
This expression of Esteban resounded in such a way that those who killed had to listen to it, immediately after this, the sacred record says that it "slept".
¡What a beautiful way as Luke describes the death of this great man of God!
It is as if the lord tenderly closed the eyes of his servant as a loving mother does when the time comes to whimper her child to sleep
The enemies of Esteban committed an atrocity, nevertheless he did not resist or begged to be spared his life. Stephen was a faithful servant of Jesus until the last moment of his life.
The brutal actions of his executioners, which after all only lasted a few moments, could not deprive him of the special place that Jesus has offered to all those who serve him and lose their lives for the gospel.
Practical teaching
Fleeing from suffering, defending oneself from enemy attack, and returning action in revenge for the evil received are very natural reactions of human beings, however, the Bible teaches us that the meek will inherit the earth, Esteban truly demonstrated this Christian attitude, It needs a lot of courage to withstand this type of persecution, but a Christian full of the Holy Spirit, of faith, and of power will always emerge triumphant before the attacks of Satan.
¡Christ is our final victory! - Perhaps you think that this has nothing to do with you, then, it is not your case to allow yourself to be stoned to death by men, but nevertheless suffering on a greater or lesser scale is inevitable, and that is where we truly demonstrate Who are we as Christians? It is worth asking ourselves. ¿ Is Jesus Christ my final victory in the midst of any suffering?
