Remember, this is Stephen's speech in his own defense before the high priest. An outside might want to whisper to Stephen that perhaps some of these things are left unmentioned. Perhaps Stephen could gloss over some of the sordid details of Israel's past, so as not to upset the Jewish leadership that is interested in stoning Stephen.
But Stephen's not afraid of the past, because Stephen knows who holds the future. He believes that Jesus Christ can redeem the past, so we don't need to run in shame from what lies behind -- we can run forward in hope to what is ahead. Jesus has set a future ahead of us, a beautiful treasure for each and every one of us.
So let us not look back in fear. Our past is what it is. May we give thanks that it does not define us, that God has redeemed us, and that we have a future with hope because of the love of Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment