Right now I'm preaching through the Book of Acts, and I've been noticing again and again the radical-yet-humble discipleship of my brothers and sisters in Christ from the early church.
A couple weeks ago, when preaching on Stephen, I was startled at how he prayed WHILE being stoned (7:59). Not that I hadn’t seen that fact before, but I guess it just dawned on me in new ways--that is, what caliber of faith it takes to pray while you’re dodging rocks (or did he dodge?). And to pray for those who're throwing the rocks and aiming at your head—“don’t hold this sin against them.”
And then this week, in the beginning of Acts 8, I was taken aback at how the believers in Jerusalem handled it when they got run out of town in the backlash after the murder of Stephen—and these were new believers, so one might expect that they wouldn't be ready for such a harsh, brutal test of faith. But the text says they went into Judea and Samaria and “everywhere” NOT telling how God had let them down but “preaching the word.” This too isn't new to me, but it struck me afresh: imagine some family with their belongings in a cart, maybe a few animals, rolling into Bethel or Sychar looking for lodging, and spreading to strangers the news of God’s great love and the wonder of having Christ as their peace (etc.). Maybe they were challenged by a skeptic, “If your God is so great, how come he let you lose your home?” But the implication of the text is that these young Christians found the benefits of peace and hope in Christ far greater than the comforts of a secure lifestyle back in Jerusalem.
These kinds of examples of real-life Christianity are both exciting and sobering at the same time. Makes me look in the mirror and ask how I respond when my faith is under pressure.
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