I am currently taking a New Testament class from Brigham
Young University. Right now we are reading the second half of the New Testament
starting with Acts, and we read the martyrdom of Stephen, which you may be
familiar with. The leaders of the Jews have accused Stephen, an early
missionary, of blasphemy for preaching about Jesus Christ. The consequence of
his actions was stoning, or throwing stones at him until he died from the
blows. While they are in the very act of
killing him, he says these verses:
Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked
up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God.
56 And said, Behold, I see the
heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling
upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried
with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said
this, he fell asleep.
Maybe like you have, I always knew that these verses were
special. I was also always amazed at Stephen’s selflessness where He asks God
not to “lay…this sin to their charge”.
What incredible strength of character!
But then my teacher pointed out something that I hadn't thought of before. He asked, “What did Stephen see in Jesus and the Father’s
face that allowed him to say that?”
I realized then that it wasn't Stephen’s amazing character,
perfect virtue or his own efforts that allowed him to freely forgive those who
were killing him. It never was. That healing love was, and is, a gift from God.
That is the only place that love and strength can come from. It seems that I
sometimes forget that the people in the scriptures and my leaders of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints aren't infallible; that they aren't perfect, enlightened people who worked out their own salvation. Every single one of them is exemplary men and women solely because of gift of love given to
them from God.
To me, that’s a huge relief and gives me hope. It means that
I don’t have to rely on my meager handful of love to get me through the day.
Instead, Heavenly Father’s got me covered. It means that although it won’t be
easy, just like getting stoned surely isn't, He can give me the strength I need
to love others even when they hurt me.
This is true for you. I know that right now you might be in the
very process of being hurt and healed over and over again. It isn't be easy to
muster up love for family members every day, that coworker, or your next door
neighbor. But I also thank my Heavenly Father so much, because he is close to
every single one of us. Your pain is His own. He has never left your side and
never will. You don’t have to worry about your own efforts to get you through;
He’s got you covered. He is the one who can give you that love you need for
others.
I promise you that every day you plead with Heavenly Father on
your knees you are looking into His and your Savior’s face. I know that the
love you so desperately need is there and will change you. And I promise that
as you let His love change you, you will start look more like them than you can
realize.
-Submitted by Karen F.
-Submitted by Karen F.
Thank you! Sometimes it is hard to love certain people in our lives. But God commanded us to love our enemies. He knows it is hard, but when we have eternal perspective, we realize those we find hard to love here were our loved ones--our close brothers & sisters--before this mortal world. How devastating it must feel when we hurt & be mean to our enemies to only be enlightened after our resurrection and realize they were really spirits we loved so much before.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated this article and I think it is so important to realize like you wrote that it is God who gives us strength to be better. We don't have to be perfect and then are worthy of having God's help, but he helps us all along the way on our journey to becoming better.
ReplyDeleteAnother amazing thing that I've pulled from those verses of scripture in the Acts is how Jesus was on the right hand of the Father, and how that signifies he is a separate person from The Holy Ghost and The Father. Many times throughout the scriptures it can be confusing when it says that they are all one. These verses clearly show how they are different beings altogether.
ReplyDeleteThe more we get to know the Savior, the more we will come to know our Father in Heaven, and we will soon find ourselves becoming more like Them.
ReplyDelete