God wants us to be zealous for Him; Paul urges us never to be lacking in zeal, but always to keep our spiritual fervour, serving the Lord (Rom 12:11). Zeal is that fire and passion which keeps us serving, keeps us persevering and refuses to let us give up, however discouraged we may be at times. Nonetheless, it is a stark, sobering fact of life that zeal can be misguided. Paul himself knew that, for there was none more zealous than he as a Pharisee in persecuting the church: ‘If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.’ (Phil 3:4-6)

Much of the opposition faced by the apostles and early Christians could be said to come from misguided zeal, from religious tranches in Judaism who cared passionately about the law and the temple. Stephen aroused such condemnation because he was said to ‘speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God’ (Acts 6:11); ‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.’(Acts 6:13) It is a frightening fact that the religious leaders could not cope with the radical teaching of Jesus and His followers and genuinely believed they were doing God’s will in opposing them.

Jesus had been arrested and tried on much the same grounds as those now being used to question Stephen; He had challenged traditional scribal interpretations of the Law, saying that He had come not to abolish the law but to fulfil it (Matt 5:17), and had prophesied not only the destruction of the temple but that He would raise it again in three days. (John 2:19-22; see also Mark 14:57-59.) John makes it clear that the temple Jesus was talking about was the temple of His body; Paul would later go on to remind believers that our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 6:19) The law and the Temple all pointed ahead to the radical work Jesus would complete on our behalf; the book of Hebrews makes it very plain that Jesus is the fulfilment of all the sacrificial system that preceded Him and that ‘the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.’ (Heb 10:1)

Stephen was the victim of misguided zeal, stoned to death as the first Christian martyr because of his bold proclamation of Christ’s teaching about both the law and the Temple. It’s ironic that those sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw his face shining like an angel (Acts 6:15), just as Moses’s face shone after his encounter with God when he was given the law (Ex 34:29-35). They did not heed the Light which had come into the world and they did not heed the light shining from one of His followers. Misguided zeal is a dangerous thing indeed.

I was once given a book of funny epitaphs found on tombstones, ranging from ‘I told you I was ill’ to ‘we finally found a place to park in Georgetown!’ People often like to leave witty comments as their final legacy and sometimes poems have been engraved on tombstones, such as:

Owen Moore
Gone away
Owin’ more
Than he could pay.

Or

Here lies the body
of Jonathan Blake
Stepped on the gas
Instead of the brake.

Whilst we may find these things funny, the legacy we leave behind is more than a humorous epitaph on a tombstone (or even a sentimental one), more than the money or property we may bequeath to family members (or animal charities.) It matters how we are remembered, not simply so that we can be famous or entered into some archive or other, but because we are made in God’s image and therefore the influence we have on people and our world can echo long after our mortal remains have perished. Since God has set eternity in our hearts (Eccl 3:11), it matters that what we do and are lasts into eternity.

Stephen is a character in the Bible who features in just three chapters in the book of Acts, but his influence was profound. He is introduced to us as being one of the seven men chosen to oversee the distribution of food to the widows (Acts 6:5) and is described as being a man ‘full of the Spirit and wisdom’ (Acts 6:3), ‘a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 6:5), and ‘a man full of God’s grace and power’ who performed great signs and wonders among the people (Acts 6:8). His speech to the Sanhedrin (which takes up most of Acts 7) is one of the most succinct and eloquent potted histories of the Israelites in the whole Bible and he will forever be known as the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54-60). That’s quite a legacy for someone whose life story takes up relatively little space in our understanding of God. It would seem that Stephen’s death had a profound impact on Saul of Tarsus (see Acts 8:1), and so the legacy went far beyond Stephen’s lifetime, reverberating throughout history and reminding us what pure devotion to God can look like.

I wonder if my life had to be summarised in as few words as these descriptions in Acts 6 whether I would be as happy with the description of myself as Stephen surely would have been with Luke’s description of himself. Three times Stephen is described as being ‘full of…’ Wisdom, faith, grace and power are impressive qualities to be remembered for: I think I’d settle for just one of those! Stephen was clearly someone who loved God and walked in his ways. Ultimately, that description would be one I’d be happy to live (and die) with, and it’s no surprise that I chose to name my only son after this remarkable man. Stephen has much to teach us about a faithful (and faith-full) life; his legacy lives on for all to see.

A couple from our church recently visited the Royal Mint in South Wales and told us of how you can lift a gold bar there worth £400,000. A mint is a place where money is made and stored and as such is often seen as the ‘richest’ place in a country. The Royal Mint becomes the representation of a country’s wealth and prosperity.

God’s word is likened to something precious and valuable such as a gold bar. The psalmist says, ‘I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.’ (Ps 119:10, The Message) God’s promises are immensely valuable and when we hide those promises in our heart, we have protection against temptation and sin. We might not have gold bars in the vault of our hearts, but if we have God’s promises, we have a treasure worth keeping!

Many of us live life in a state of frustration and veiled resentment. We feel we could serve God so much more effectively if only something were different in our lives. We long for a different job, perhaps, or for more free time; we feel hampered by our health or hindered by our circumstances and dream of a future date when we will have the time, health and money to serve God without hindrances.

When we read the Bible, however, we see that service occurs in inauspicious circumstances for the most part. A slave girl in Aram speaks God’s word to a commander in the army and as a result he is healed. (2 Kings 5) Daniel serves God in a foreign land to which he’s been hauled as a captive. Ruth serves God in the midst of widowhood and loss. Paul writes letters we’re still reading while he is in prison for the gospel’s sake. None of these circumstances looked ‘favourable’, but all of these people had learned the secret of being thankful and content wherever they were and served God no matter what their circumstances.

Nicky Gumbel says, “Rather than looking to the future when you might be in a better situation to serve God, focus on how you can serve God in the present, whatever your situation.” God’s word urges us to make the most of every opportunity and to be gracious in speech and actions. (Col 4:2-4) This applies to every one of us in every situation. All of us, even the housebound and ill, can pray and thus participate actively in God’s work. Prayer is partnership with God!

Paul asked others to pray for him – not that he be released from the prison (which might have been my prayer in his position!), but that he might proclaim the message of Christ clearly. We can pray for people to do this wherever we are and in so doing can begin to serve God wherever we are.

What’s inside is reflected on the outside. We can’t help but show outwardly what’s going on inwardly. Some of us are better at hiding our feelings than others, but in the end, our thoughts, speech and behaviour find a way out!

Every day reveals our heart to others. Do we lie? Slander others? Rage and explode? Do colleagues and family dread being with us because of our volatility or negativity? Is our language coarse or profane?

People’s Facebook pages give us an interesting mirror into the inward, since what is posted there is often a reflection of true feelings (at the time of posting, anyway!)

Paul urges us to live differently (Eph 4:17-32, Col 3:1-17). Each morning we have the choice of what clothes to put on. Paul urges us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Col 3:12) I think of each of these as a garment to put on. Just as I can choose what to wear each morning, I can choose whether I let the new life of Christ shine through or live in the old way.

Clothes are an external covering, an adornment. Ultimately, we can’t live the life of Christ as an add-on extra. His life grows from within, from our union with Him. What’s in our hearts will manifest itself in how we think, speak and behave. So ponder what you’re saying to yourself, saying to others and doing. Ponder what you post on social media before you use it as a platform to rant, criticise and bring others down. Ponder how you’re interacting with others. What’s on the outside reflects what’s on the inside. Only people clothed in Christ can impact the world as Christ did.

Tonight’s ‘Little Big Church’ looked at the subject of following Jesus. If we’re going to go for a walk, good shoes that fit are generally considered essential, and walking with Jesus is one of the ways we can describe being a Christian. Jesus asked people to follow Him (e.g. calling Matthew from his job as a tax-collector (Matthew 9:9) or calling Simon and the other fisherman from their jobs into a new vocation (Luke 5:1-11)).

Following Jesus might seem a little scary; His shoes are big to fill, as the saying goes! The children had a go at walking in Stephen’s shoes and found it wasn’t as easy as walking in their own:

Not everyone whom Jesus called decided to follow Him. The rich young ruler didn’t want to give up his wealth to follow Jesus (Matt 19:16-20) and we can be easily distracted by possessions and other things which stop us from following Jesus. Sometimes, we feel that walking with Jesus is a little bit lonely – rather like the person in the ‘Footprints’ poem who, when seeing only one set of footprints in the sand, assumed God had deserted them, rather than realising it was at those times that God carried them. As Moses reminded the Israelites, ‘There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son.’ (Deut 1:31) God is able to carry us when the going gets tough and in the meantime, we can walk with God every day of our lives.