Scripture:
Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Acts 7:60
Observation:
Right in the midst of being yelled at and stoned, Stephen calls out to Jesus to receive his spirit, and before he dies, he calls out to the Lord to not hold the sin of his perpetrators against them. This sounds familiar because that is exactly what Jesus did as He was crucified. In the middle of excruciating anguish, knowing that forgiveness is of the Lord, Stephen with his last breath breathes forgiveness.
Application:
I wonder. If I were ever in the same situation and knew that in just a little while, I would be with Jesus in heaven, and I was suffering great pain and more pain every nano second, would I even have the capacity to think of my perpetrators and ask that their sins not be held against them? Just thinking that when I am in even a little pain, any relief from that would be my focus. Yet Stephen captured the heart and the truth of God. I want to practice that everyday. Even when someone is yelling at me and throwing “stones” at me, I want to forgive. Even when relief is forthcoming and I can get through the pain thinking of my relief rather than worrying about those that hurt me, I want to forgive.
How will I be different today because of what I have just read?
I make the decision today that all that in every situation of pain, grief, sorrow, offense, hurt or attack, I will choose to forgive.
Prayer:
Thank you Father for the gift of forgiveness. Thank you that in your great wisdom you have called us to forgive so that the pain or the offense wouldn’t hold us bondage. You knew that we would sin and be sinned against and have taught us how what to do. You even give us permission to call upon you when we can’t seem to be able to do it on our own. Thank you dear Lord for the example Stephen leaves for us to forgive, even to the point of that being our last breath.
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