Lord, do not hold this sin against them. (Acts 7:60)
Constantin
Caraman
I would like to end the list of
ordinary people who did extraordinary things with Stephen. After he had
proclaimed the Gospel in Jerusalem, he was in serious trouble. Some of the
onlookers attacked him and dragged him out, intending to kill him. "Away
with him," they shouted, "we don't want to listen to this any
longer."
Stephen knew there could be a
reaction like this.
After all, the disciples had been picked up and punished
several times already. Yet, none of them had been stoned and killed. Stephen
would be the first martyr.
When they started throwing stones
at him, he could have cried, "Lord, help me, they are going too far. Lord,
send down a fire from heaven to destroy these people. You don't want me to die,
do you?"
While the stones came down and
hit him, he knelt down and prayed. What did he pray for? Did he pray for
strength to remain faithful? No, he prayed for those who cursed him,
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them."
Until his last breath he had
compassion on the sinners, and in doing so, he followed Christ's example.
You may also like to
read Is it right for Christains to pray for others to die ? click to read
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