All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:15)
Comments are often made about someone’s countenance. Perhaps you look like you are at peace. Maybe you have what someone else describes as “honest eyes.” We pick up the story of the first Christian martyr, and the Bible says he had “the face of an angel.” Despite the false witnesses who accused him, Stephen didn’t scowl. His face didn’t turn beet red. We are simply told that his face looked like that of an angel. Imagine that. In a very tense situation, a grown man’s face was described as angelic.
How could he respond this way? Shouldn’t he have been vehemently defending himself? Perhaps Stephen knew there was a greater cause than winning every argument. Maybe he was looking forward to heaven and how awesome it would be someday. Perhaps he looked as calm and as happy as an angel because Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. Whatever it was, we find ourselves staring into the angelic face of the first soon-to-be martyr for Christ.
Visualize a man with a peaceful glow on his face because he knew who God was. See a confident man who knew what he believed. Stephen correctly taught about God living in the place God himself had made because he could not be contained in a building or threatened by false witnesses. God was the reason for his calm.
Assess your internal reaction when trouble comes your way.
Jim Dunn serves The Wesleyan Church as president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
