WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?

Acts 7:58b-60
"Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep."
Have you ever been wronged? Have you ever been taken advantage of? Misunderstood? Humiliated? Falsely Accused? Punished? What was your response?

Not long ago I went to the airport to pick up the Pastor of my church who was returning from chaplain duty in the Air Force Reserve. As I drove up to the curb at baggage claim right outside the big John Wayne statue (our designated pick up spot), I parked (with the engine still running) under one of the signs that said "No Parking -- No Waiting." I was finishing a conversation with one of the leaders of our Men's Ministry, while I scanned the crowd. I hung up the phone and dialed my Pastor; he told me he was still waiting for his bag in baggage claim. I looked in my side view mirror as I prepared to leave the "No Parking - No Waiting" area to circle the airport again, only to see a police officer standing there, writing me a ticket. When he gave me the ticket, I held back some impulsive comments and instead thought about our passage and Stephen.

As I drove away, I couldn't help feeling a little anger and indignation -- after all, I was being punished (getting a ticket), for doing something good (taking the time to pick up a friend, who also just happened to be the Pastor of my church), while working for God (talking on the phone about Men's Ministry objectives). How could God let this happen? It didn't seem fair. The key for all of us is in Stephen's example under pressure and extreme circumstances when he prayed, "Lord do not hold this sin against them." Wow! I have to be honest that was not my first thought when I got the ticket.

Was Stephen's prayer answered? St. Augustine said, "The Church owes Paul (Saul changed his name to Paul after his conversion) to the prayer of Stephen." I sometimes wonder what great thing might have come out of my ticket experience had I prayed for the police officer as Stephen prayed for those (including Saul) who falsely accused him and stoned him to death.
Do your wrongs and indignations seem a little insignificant when compared to Stephen's? How have you responded to wrongs in the past? Have you tried to retaliate? Have you held on to the anger? What would you like your response to be? What would a Christ-like response be?

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