Affliction and Joy

"Now I rejoice in what I suffer for you, and I fulfill in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for his body, which is the church" (Colossians 1:24).

When trials come in life, for the carnal mind, it is illogical to rejoice. Only when a person is in Christ can he rejoice over his sufferings. The followers of Christ must be aware that he is like a purifying fire, and like a washers' soap to refine us, to cleanse us and to make us his special treasure. This purification, which God is carrying out in his children, is to fulfill the eternal desire of his heart to have a church free from all stain, where Christ becomes all and in all.

In Acts 7:55-60 we see the glorious death of Stephen. He was stoned to death; however, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and was one with the heart of God. Verses 55 and 56 say: "But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looking up to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God". He was not seeing the circumstances, he was not seeing with carnal eyes. While the people were stoning him, he was so filled with the Holy Spirit that physical discomfort did not prevent him from seeing Jesus in the heavens.

It often happens that, when we prevent the flow of the Holy Spirit from flooding our whole being, we see the heavens closed and we cannot rejoice, because we are dry and empty of the heavenly flow. Verses 59 and 60 say: "And they stoned Stephen, and he called upon them, and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep".

When we call upon the Lord Jesus, the heavens are opened to us and we are saved from ourselves. Stephen was one with the heart of God: even dying, but alive in the spirit, in the power of God, he got down on his knees to pray for his people, with words similar to those of Jesus on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". There is no hatred in his heart; instead of cursing his victimizers, he prays for them. It was Christ in him. What a glorious scene!

In Luke 9, when two disciples wanted to bring fire down on the Samaritans, the Lord rebukes them saying: "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of: for the Son of man is not come to destroy men's souls, but to save them" (Lk. 9:55-56). The Lord does not want us to judge and criticize, but to be one Spirit with him for the edification of his church. Stephen is an example of the power of the Spirit dwelling in us. May the Lord continue to purify us, being more and more filled with his Holy Spirit, to collaborate in his work with joy.

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