Help, I am stuck in a pit!

Okay, I've been a little distracted this week, a little stressed, quite anxious actually.... I could name any number of circumstances as the source; I wrote of one such situation in my previous entry. Tonight I just want to get of the pit and into the light of Christ. His perspective is so different from mine - I am sure of it. I need His perspective tonight! To set my sights on obtaining Godly insight, I am reviewing some recent quiet time reflections.

On 2/17/09 (wow - that feels like months ago), I read and reflected on Acts 7:51-59 (NLT). This is the portion of scripture when Stephen boldly confronted the religious leaders. Here are his words:

"You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you. Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One - the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God's law, though you received it from the hands of angels."

Wow - Stephen did not mince any words, did he? This clearly maddened his audience - they were "infuriated" and "shook their fists in rage." In these moments, Stephen saw the glory of God!

This evening in the local newspaper, a man wrote a letter to the editor responding to a recent controversy. It is a typical Christian vs. non-Christian public debate: the Christians are standing up for what they believe to be true while the non-Christians respond with accusations of intolerance. Public debates of this kind are disturbing to me. The writer states, "It has been my experience to see Christian faithful use God for violence and hatred.... I just can't understand how it is preached that God is love and all forgiving and to see Christians with such hatred for one group or another." Hmmm.

What are the underlying assumptions of these words? Based on anecdotal evidence from this man's perspective, Christians are violent and hateful. Also based on anecdotal evidence from this man's perspective, God is loving and forgiving. So, I ask: Is every Christian violent and hateful? Does love mean that humans can not disagree with one another? Is is possible to receive forgiveness when one does not recognize his/her need of it?

No one enjoys being negatively stereotyped - neither believers nor unbelievers. On one hand, I am offended by this author's words about me. On the other hand, this author does not claim to know Jesus, so I can neither expect him to know Truth, nor can I expect the Holy Spirit to reveal Truth to him. In short, the author can not speak of God's love and forgiveness because the author does not know God.

The next sentence is heartbreaking, "I myself have shied away from Christianity just for this reason, how can I believe in God and watch his faithful resent and hate others...." If I could respond to this man (and I do not believe a letter to the editor would be an effective response), I would say, "Dude, you are watching the wrong players!" Humans, faithful to God or not, will always disappoint, but, in a devoted relationship, God will not."

Stephen was in a devoted relationship with Jesus. He followed the teachings of Jesus closely on earth. He courageously stood up for what he believed based on his relationship with Jesus. He ranted before the religious leaders and God smiled down upon him with approval. "Stand up for you what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done in love." (Acts 4:13, NLT). Stephen had the love, but the leaders did not choose to accept it; the leaders did not know to accept it. As a result, Stephen was brutally stoned to death. "Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed him. They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him" (Acts 7:57-58a, NLT).

Over Christmas break, I read The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini described a death by stoning in this book. Had I not lent it to a friend, I would add the desciption here. Without it, you will have to rely on my recollection: It was sickening!

Unbelievers witnessing, or hearing of, Stephen's death might have deduced that Stephen's life was meaningless saying, "He died standing up for a lie. What good does that accomplish?" Based on scripture, we know of several huge by-products of Stephen's death. One of those by-products viewed the event as an unbeliever, "The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul" (Act 7:58b). Yes, this is The Saul who later in Acts is renamed Paul! I don't know about you, but I would die for that by-product.

A few years ago a friend faced the possibility of death at a very young age. She had children similar to the ages to my own baby boys. I remember pleading with Christ to save her life. I also remember the response He laid in my heart - If someone else could lead your sons to Christ and into purposeful lives of Christlike service other than you, then would you be willing to die and trust me with your boys? Ummm, I know the answer is supposed to be "Yes!" but that is a hard one, God.

Following Christ does not promise a life of ease, freedom from pain, and limited to zero persecution. Following Christ does promise purposeful living (and dying), a future with Christ as King, and powerful support for the burdens of this earth.

Dear Jesus, You have pulled me out of the pit tonight and shined the light of your perspective upon me. Thank You - May your Name be praised!