They think it's all over...

I remember the joy when I was first selected to represent my school football team. I was 11 years old, 5ft nothing and convinced that one day I would play in goal for Tottenham Hotspur. The first match we were scheduled to play was against Ilford County High, which was the boys county grammar school and renowned for turning out a decent side.

The first five minutes seemed to go well, as the onslaught of their vastly superior team bombarded our fledgling defence. When the first goal went sailing past my right, outstretched, diving hand, I felt a sense of failure, the likes of which I had not known up until that point in my young life. It was at this point that I heard the most dreaded sound I could have ever imagined, 'Come on James', thundered the voice of my father. I had never imagined he would actually come! I thought he was joking when he said he would leave work early to come watch the game. Now the pressure was on.

I would like to write of the Hollywood victory, that a rag tag group of could nots were somehow unified by a higher power, moulding us together into a team and that we came back from behind, against all adversity to claim victory, but sadly, Hollywood endings only happen in one place...Hollywood. We lost 8-0. The embarrassment was indescribable, but as I limped, deflated towards my waiting father, he said something I'll never forget, 'chin up James, you'll do better next time'. Funnily enough it was the truth, we did do a lot better next time, we only lost 3-2 and I saved a penalty. It taught me something very valuable about the power of having good support, it taught me that my father loved me and should not be feared, but instead, relied upon to be there for me, in my failures, as well as my victories.

The stoning of Stephen is the turning point in the mission of the early church, as it is from this point that the gospel begins to travel from Jerusalem, out into the rest of the world. The imagery of this barbaric event, however, is dominated, not by the savagery of Stephen's execution, but instead, by Stephen's vision of the Son of Man, standing by the Father's side in glory. This picture blows my mind, as it is written in the epistle to the Hebrews, that after Jesus had offered Himself once, as a propitiation for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Father, because His work was finished. So what would cause the Son of God to stand up?

What we see in Stephen is a picture of man's potential being fulfilled. Here one man, full of the Holy Spirit, full of grace and truth, stands selflessly proclaiming the gospel in the face of the same kind of opposition that Jesus Himself did. Finally, we see a human being living the Christ life, as Stephen's dying words mimic that of His saviour, 'Lord forgive them, they do not know what they are doing'. At the sight of this act of true righteousness, Jesus stands to cheer Stephen on. You can imagine Jesus, much like my Dad at the side of my first football match, full of love and and encouragement shouting, 'Come on Stephen, you can do it! I AM with you always, I have never left you, I have never forsaken you'. It's not the success that Jesus is applauding, it's the fact that Stephen is believing the truth and, therefore, walking in true freedom, even though the path of that freedom is leading him to his own death. Stephen firmly picks up his cross and carries it to his own personal Calvary, not for his own sake, but for the salvation of those who are killing him. It is no accident that standing watching this horrific event is Saul, who will go on to meet Jesus on the Damascus and one day become the apostle Paul.

The truth is that our Father does not wait for us to achieve greatness before He stands by our side to cheer us on. God loves His children and is proud of us, whether we succeed or not. His love is unconditional, which means He has already accepted us, irrespective of our performance. This is the most precious gift of His grace, the truth that sets us free to be the best that we can be, fully equipped with His Spirit and with nothing to prove, we are living examples of His grace and mercy, having been given victory over sin and death, we radiate the very presence of Christ in the world, shining like children of the Morning star, bringing hope to the hopeless, liberty to the captive, even life to the dead. Like Stephen, we have become just like our saviour, just like Christ Himself. Paul writes to the church in Rome, that Christ would be the first born among many brethren. Imagine an army in the  image of Christ, armed not with weapons of war, but of love and grace, giving their lives to save those who would see them stoned, for those who know not what they do. That is what it means to be a Christian, as sons and daughters of the living God.

Stephen is the picture of success, the model for us all. Doesn't quite fit in with the health and wealth gospel does it?




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