Luke’s account of Stephen is absolutely the most amazing and wondrous way to be remembered.
When someone dies we often remember them as being a bit more wonderful than they really were. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of really great people die and are remembered just as they should be. My brother-in-law recently passed, and at his funeral, we all recounted fond memories of what a great man he was. I would have said the exact things about him when he was living as I said about him after his death. But sometimes, we remember lost ones with attributes that are a bit more “romanticized” than they really were. “She was the sweetest person I ever met,” or, “He was the most giving person on earth.”
When I look at what Scripture says about Stephen, I realize that Luke’s account of Stephen is not only exactly what happened at the time, but is absolutely the most amazing and wondrous way to be remembered.
Just take a look at some of his verbiage:
“..Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 6:5
“..Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power.” Acts 6:8
“..Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit..” Acts 7:55
Now that’s a way to be remembered. This man, while he was dying for his faith, even cried out as Jesus did, for the Lord to forgive those who were stoning him. What a legacy for us all.
I pray that the legacy I leave behind for my loved ones is a legacy of faith. It may not look like being stoned to death for my faith, but oh that one day people will not remember me for being a “good person”, but for loving a great Savior, no matter what I faced in this life.
