If
you were choosing people to work with during New Testament times, and
the two picks were Peter and Stephen, you would choose Stephen every
time.
We first meet Stephen in Acts
6 when the leaders needed some men to serve the people. He was an
obvious choice as he was “A man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”
(verse 5). Stephen is strong, wise, spiritual and dependable.
On the other hand, Peter’s
life was marked by a series of ups and downs. He was chosen by Jesus
(Luke 5) and was the first to understand that Jesus was God’s Son
(Matthew 16:16). He walked on the water, but then got scared and sank
like a rock (Matthew 14). Peter was ready to fight to the death when
Jesus was arrested (John 18:19), but a few hours later, he denied
knowing Jesus at all (all four gospels record this low point).
Interestingly, these two men
preached two of the first recorded sermons and received completely
different reactions. When Peter finished his lesson, his hearers were
cut to the heart and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).
Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their
sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (verse 38).
More than three thousand people responded. A few days later, five
thousand more were baptized.
Stephen’s lesson was almost
identical to Peter’s. However, his hearers became violently angry.
They dragged Stephen outside of the city and stoned him to death (Acts
7:54-60).
On the surface, this seems
unfair. Steady Stephen dies, while unstable Peter is successful.
However, God used both of them. The word spread because of their
faithfulness. In fact, though he did not get to see it in this life,
Stephen’s death caused the Christians to leave Jerusalem, spreading the
truth across the known world as they went.
We like to measure results
and focus on what we believe will be successful. However, we have no
idea how God might use our circumstances, or what good we are doing when
we are doing it.
The results are none of our business!
Do the right thing and let God handle the rest.
We are called to be faithful. God will figure out the successful part.
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