As explained in Acts 7:51-60, Stephen faithfully testified of the person and work of Jesus Christ even when it meant his death at the hands of the Jewish leaders. As his persecutors were gathering to rush upon him, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit (v. 55), declared (v. 56): “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” The Scriptures tell us that the Messiah is normally “seated” at the right hand of God; there are at least 9 or 10 passages to this effect. I believe that Jesus was standing to honor Stephen and to welcome His servant, the first of many martyrs of the church, into His presence. Why did the Lord honor Stephen? Because Stephen honored the Lord by doing what was right without any regard for his own honor. Here was a man who got his start in the ministry serving tables for widows. Here was a man who was willing to live and die proclaiming his crucified and risen Lord.
As I think about the life of Stephen, I cannot help but think of the state of Christianity today, especially in the West. We have a lot of “stars” in so-called evangelical Christianity, but I’m not sure we have a lot of servants. But there are those who quietly serve the Lord and others in Christ’s body, often unseen. They are learning to be confident in the Lord’s ability to work through them, but they are not enamored with their own importance. They just make themselves available to the Lord to do whatever, wherever, and whenever He wants. Many of them started out in secular or other employment that was tedious and unrecognized by others, except by a boss that treated them like a servant. But it was one of the key experiences that God used to shape them into effective instruments in His service. Young people, I urge you to not disdain a job or task that you may think to be menial or boring. That’s how Stephen got started: serving tables for minority widows; but God used it to shape him into one of the most powerful servants of his generation. That’s why we read about him today; because when it comes to being usable in the hands of the Savior, character makes the difference.