PODCAST
From Server to Saint
July 6th, 2014
Acts 6:1-15
The Bible doesn’t call Stephen the first Christian saint, but he certainly had the qualifications. Consider how he is described: “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,” “full of God’s grace and power,” and that he did “great wonders and miraculous signs” (Acts 6:5, 8). Furthermore, when he was stoned to death his face resembled an angel (Acts 6:15). Whatever shine was on his face, it came from the inside. A girl looking at stained-glass portrayals of saints concluded, “A saint is someone the light shines through.” How perceptive! Saints are ordinary people transformed by God’s light within.
Stephen didn’t begin as a saint; he was a server. His assignment was to “wait on tables,” ministering to widows and unfortunates. Not a glamorous job, but he did it well and outgrew it. God had a bigger job for him. He may have continued serving as a waiter, but his ministry could not be contained, that should be true of every Christian.
The Word of God spread–when the young church organized for greater effectiveness in ministry. That’s still the plan. The power comes from God, but well organized human “servers” need to have a ministry that can’t be contained. We’re called to be “serving saints.”
Author: Wil Watson
