8:1 Now Saul was
consenting to his death.
At that time a great
persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all
scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
3 As for Saul, he made
havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women,
committing them to prison.
Just in these few verses there is so much. The pain and grief
of those who loved Stephen. The inner turmoil of trying to process why God
didn't intervene. The trauma of seeing the men they used to trust and look up
to as their spiritual leaders now being their enemies and murdering someone
they loved and respected right in broad daylight. The terror in the midst of
all of this of having Saul and the authorities going house to house and
dragging friends and loved ones off to prison simply for believing in Jesus.
Jerusalem. It means City of Peace. Ironic isn't it. There
might not be another city in the world that has experienced more bloodshed over
the millennia.
Now once again it has been thrust into a scene of violence
and turmoil. You can be certain that when society for whatever reason descends
into brutal conflict it begins and is always worst in the cities.
In an effort to quiet the storm within himself he redoubled
his efforts to silence the storm in Jerusalem. Whatever this movement was it
must be squashed. Perhaps he convinced himself it was a cult and Stephen was
experiencing mind control. Whatever reasoning Saul uses to explain away what he
saw, the end result was a resolve to end this new religion at all costs.
There is nothing more dangerous and often deadly than two
opposing forces who really believe in what they are doing. We look at ISIS and
wonder how they can be so insane. We forget that perhaps it is more about
belief than insanity. Belief is a powerful force. Stephen believed enough to
die without a fight. His murderers believed enough to kill and imprison. All around
the world people have fought and continue to fight for what they believe in.
The odd and unavoidable truth/dilemma is that believing
doesn't equal truth or right. Passion does not mean a person is correct yet try
and tell them that...
Let me make it as simple as I know how. There are only two
forces in the universe. Good and evil. God is good. Satan is evil. Good
believes in others over self. It believes in preserving life, not snuffing it
out. It believes in freedom, not force. If you want to evaluate a belief system
use those simple criteria. If a belief system can't tolerate any point of view
but its own and would love to see any all other points of view silenced it is a
demonic belief system. Love is never like that. Jesus never defended Himself. He
never forced anyone to follow Him or submit to His worldview. Stephen was a
true follower. He too died not defending himself. He died more concerned about
the lives of his murderers than about his own. He died with a quiet confidence
that preached more than any words ever could. It rattled Saul so badly that at
first it caused him to turn with renewed passion against the followers of Jesus
but beneath the surface that passion was fueled by the turmoil within himself.
A turmoil ignited by the unexplainable peace of Stephen.
This world is headed for turmoil such as we have yet to see.
The Bible describes it as a time of trouble such as never was since there was a
nation. Worse than the dark ages. Worse than the holocaust. Worse than
Stahlin's Russia. Already the cracks are starting to show. Anger is rising.
Extremism is rising. Force over freedom is starting to rear it's ugly head even
in America, long known as the land of the free and the home of the brave.
If you want to know where truth is look for the peaceful
ones. Storms only scare those who are more concerned about survival than
anything else. The peaceful ones know self-preservation is not the most
important thing. Love is and love wins.
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