Did your family mark the wall to measure your height as you grew? When you discovered you had grown, how did that feel? Think with me about measuring our growth as disciples. How do we know that we are growing spiritually? The true measure is our growing likeness to our Lord.
In Stephen’s story, we see a growing resemblance to Jesus. As Jesus was full, so Stephen was full of grace. When his opponents could not defeat him any other way, they resorted to lies. They persuaded some to say that Stephen spoke blasphemy against Moses and God.
Remember when Jesus’ enemies wanted to put him on trial, they accused him of saying he would destroy the temple? This was a dog whistle to the crowd. Any words spoken about the temple were “fighting words” because others had desecrated and destroyed the temple in years gone by.
Side by side, we see they used the same tactics to attack Stephen that they used against the Lord Jesus. For the disciple, this is good news. Christians should not be convicted of doing bad things. But if they have to lie to get us in trouble, we are probably in the right place. This is why we read the gospels. When we see Jesus, we discover the ways we need to become more like him. Let’s back up to the standard of Jesus and measure our lives. Are we growing?
