The Comfort In Life Is Knowing God Saves Us, Even From Ourselves

by Eric Elkin

“As they battered him with stones, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, accept my life!”

— Acts 7:59

Fairs have a well-earned reputation. They are notorious for the type of characters they attract. People who operate carnival games and rides are not typically Harvard material. Even before COVID-19, fairs were the one place you were acutely aware of disease exposure. Still, most people love them. We can make fun of the sketchy environment, but we cannot resist the appeal.

One summer, my nephew and my two children decided to spend the evening at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport, Iowa. This one trip stands out in my mind because of a picture. I never thought children their age could be that excited about a fair. The highlight of the evening was the opportunity to hold a baby tiger. They took a picture to remember the experience. You can see the joy in their faces.

We keep the picture hanging on our refrigerator. The longer it hangs there, the more it grows in meaning. Since the death of my nephew, we like to remember his smile and the joy he brought our life. Then, after watching Tiger King, I started to ask questions about the photo. It turns out Joe Exotic was at the Mississippi Valley Fair. Our family has video evidence of being connected to the Tiger King.

I recently watched the Tiger King against my better judgment. Unfortunately, the show was what I thought it would be. It centered on people prone to self-destruction being slowly destroyed. Worse, every lead character in the show wanted the right to abuse animals and people. They did this for profit and popularity. Anyone who sought to prevent them was a threat to their freedom.

“People Every Day Are Like, ‘You Must Have The Most Incredible Life To Live With 187 Big Cats.”

— Joe Exotic

Joe Exotic ends up in prison for hiring someone to murder another one of the featured people. The person he wanted dead is also suspected of feeding her ex-husband to a tiger. The only person who seems remotely sane attracts teenage girls to his zoo and “marries” them. Technically, they are not married, but they enjoy all the benefits of the tradition.

Today’s lesson is about the stoning of Stephen. It is not the most inspiring story in the Bible. Theologians apologize for its inclusion in the schedule of Sunday readings. Yet, look around, we are drawn to watching people be destroyed. Death and tragedy are vital staples of entertainment. Like going to a carnival, we now it is sketchy, but we just can’t stop ourselves from attending.

I was drawn to this one line, “Lord Jesus, accept my life!” When I see the characters on Tiger King, I cannot help but see rejected people. How many of those people simply want to be accepted for who they are? In the show, they find a place of belonging with those who accept them. They are so desperate to be accepted, they will do insane things to remain in the community.

Reflecting on this scripture, I read a commentary by Matt Skinner, a professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary. He wrote, “If the Easter story means anything, it had better mean that God promises an end to this way of doing business. And that God can save us from ourselves.”

“Lord Jesus, accept my life” is a way of asking God to save us from ourselves. Each day, we learn that life can be a series of difficult choices. Sometimes one bad choice leads to another. There is comfort in knowing the Lord accepts, heals, and saves us even from ourselves.

Click to read Acts 7:55-60