“When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Acts 7:54-56
Dear HBIC Family,
Ever since I was young, I noticed that when I would meet people who have never heard of Liberia, our future meetings would almost always include them telling me about how they see and hear about Liberia everywhere. I would notice a form of this every time I would buy a new pair of sneakers. It’s almost like as soon as I got the pair of sneakers, everyone else would also then get a pair. This happens to you every time you notice your car on the road, or your favorite t-shirt or glasses on someone else. Psychologists call this frequency illusion.
At any given moment, we are being actively bombarded with information and our brains have to be intentional about what gets and keeps our attention. Choosing what to notice and disregarding the rest is called selective attention bias. Looking for things that support our ideas, in this case…my car is really everywhere, while disregarding potential counter-evidence (my car isn’t really everywhere, I’m just noticing it way more) is called confirmation bias. These combined biases form the frequency illusion.
One very helpful place I find the frequency illusion is in Scripture study. For example, there might only be a set number of times a theme is mentioned or featured in a book of the Bible. Nevertheless, the more you study that book, the more the major theme seems to just jump off the page. In Ruth for example, it is loyalty that shows up time and time again, just like in the epistle of 1 John, it is love that dominates. The frequency illusion here is that while it feels like the major theme is all the book talks about, it’s not; it’s just the most important thing you see and understand.
The epistle of 1 Peter can be said to connect the people to the Old Testament Scriptures as God calls forth a new community. Some have even focused on Peter’s message of salvation or holiness for all of God’s people as other major themes. However, the major theme that drives the entire letter is suffering in the name of Christ. Peter writes to a greater church community that has been scattered by violent persecution, but also alienation, shame, slander, and many other troubling abuses. Peter writes to remind them and us that none of us can escape suffering for Christ’s sake, but the story of Christ and the spirit of God can help us all to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
African Church Father Tertullian once remarked that, “…the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” The implication was based on evidence since our birth that persecution does not destroy the Church, it grows us in deeper faith, dedication even unto death, and many more coming to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is important for us to remember this truth as we continue our current series Acts: The Church Then and Now, by learning from the life and witness of Stephen, our faith’s first martyr. To prepare for this week’s services, I would like to invite you to read and meditate on Acts 6 and 7. As you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:
What does this passage say about God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)?
What does this passage say about followers of God?
Where in your life is God calling you to deeper belief and faith?
What is the testimony of your life and witness so far? To what else is God calling you?
I was struck this week by how much Stephen’s life and witness mirror that of our Lord Jesus. His ministry begins by a call to serve those that organized religion and even society as a whole were leaving behind. It included debating and besting religious leaders in his day. It was also a life of preaching the gospel and the kingdom of God. Sadly though, Stephen also lived a life where he was falsely accused, unjustifiably tried, and yet…he still had faith even unto death, just like Jesus.
The life and witness of Stephen is also a reminder to all of us of how we are to live for Christ. The persecution will come, but we must be faithful. For our sisters and brothers facing even more threatening persecution, we must be faithful in love, prayers, and support. And for all of us, the goal is to have a life and witness empowered by the Spirit that tells the story of Christ.
God bless you all.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Hank (Acts 7:54-56)
Pastor Hank (Acts 7:54-56)