TOPIC:‌“Stephen's Radiant Face”

‌‌    by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Acts 6:15

 

‌‌“And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him,

‌‌saw his face as it had been the face of an angel”

 

‌Many years ago a national magazine printed a charming poem entitled, “I Have Seen A Thousand Faces” by J. P. Folinsbee. Time does not allow me to read every line of the poem, but listen to the first stanza:

 

‌‌“I have seen a thousand faces, old and young;

‌‌More eloquent than words, each speaks to me;

‌‌Not on their lips, but in their eyes is sung

‌‌The sorrow and the song of life's brief melody.”

 

What the author is setting forth here is that your face has a message to tell. ‌Following the first refrain, the author places before his readers pictures of faces that he has observed by his careful inspection. Faces that speak of wonder and amazement. Faces which show forth the glory of innocence, together with the rough-hewn face of time. Faces of courage, of strain, of grief, and then coming to the end of his poem, listen as he writes of faces he will never forget:

 

‌‌“I have seen a thousand faces, all the rest are lost,

‌‌Like blades of grass that crowd upon a sod;

‌‌And, of a thousand passed, these I remember best -

‌‌The quiet faces, brushed by the waiting hands of God.”

 

‌Now the history of humanity has been just that, the fading out of many faces which lose their identity with the passing years. It was the face of an angel. It was the face of Stephen. But once in a while there comes upon the scene a face that is not quick to be forgotten, but lingers long in the hearts of men. It is here in the text that we find one of few men in history whose face continues to glow like a star. It continues to shine brighter with the passing of years.

 

‌Now whether you realize it or not, faces do speak, they do tell on you. They are mirrors of the soul portraying to others what our lives are really like. I wonder, what has your face been telling . . .