⁵⁸When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church” is a bittersweet reflection that has captured the costly dynamic of the Christian movement. It was penned by Tertullian, the prolific second- and third-century writer, whose work Apologeticus (50) defended Christianity to the Roman world about one hundred and fifty years after Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

Christian history is filled with pain and suffering. While stories like Stephen’s are preserved in simple statements as in today’s passage, and described with inspiring and moving commentary, we recognize that the omitted details contain the real pain and suffering. In the sparse phrase, “[H]e cried out with a loud voice,” can we not hear the anguish? To be sure, Stephen pleaded for God’s grace on his executioners, but the hint of personal pain cannot be hidden.

Books like Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and, more recently, Jesus Freaks seek to preserve and promote stories of martyrdom in efforts to encourage and challenge believers of all generations to give their all for the Lord. The writer of Hebrews challenges us, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

The young man witnessing, even encouraging, the stoning of Stephen, later was indelibly stamped with what he saw. After his own conversion to Jesus Christ and years of suffering for the same faith as Stephen, Saul (who became more commonly known as the apostle Paul) would write that he wanted to know “the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3:10).

Persecution and suffering come in many forms, from the ultimate sacrifice of physical martyrdom to the trials of life that offer the opportunity for deep fellowship with Christ: broken lives, failed marriages, lost children, repression, rejection, sickness, and tragedy. Continuing to trust Him, walking hand in hand with the One who suffered for us when darkness invades the soul, is faith made precious through the refining fire. We are confidently assured of God’s grace for us, but we also desire His forgiveness even for those who have caused our suffering. That is the seed of the church!

Lord, forgive those in my life right now who are causing me pain.