"But [Stephen], being full
of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55).

It is impossible to read the
closing verses of Acts 7 and not see the powerful effect produced upon Stephen
by the object which filled the vision of his soul. He looked up into heaven and
saw Jesus. Earth was rejecting him, as it had already rejected his Lord; but
heaven was opened to him and, looking up, he caught some of the rays of glory shining
in the face of his risen Lord. He not only caught them, but reflected them back
upon the faces of his murderers. His countenance was radiant with the light of
that glory into which he was about to enter. We see in Stephen a man who
reflected the glory of Christ in a very positive, practical way.

We may talk largely about
heavenly glory while our practical ways are anything but heavenly. It was not
so with Stephen. He was a living mirror in which men could see the glory
reflected.

Is it so with us? Are we so
absorbed with our risen Lord that our fellow men can see His image reflected in
our character, our habits, our spirit, our life style? Alas! We cannot say much
on this score. But can we not at least say that it is our heart’s deep desire
to be so occupied with Christ that His lovely grace may shine out in us to the
praise of His name? May God, in His rich mercy, grant that our eye may be so
fixed on Jesus that we too may, in some degree, mirror His glory, and thus shed
some tiny ray of that glory upon the darkness around!