Quote:
Originally Posted by NewManLiving
Don't mean to imply that there is no feeling. Joy is certainly a feeling or emotion. Feelings of joy and a deep sense of the presence of the Lord encourage us to go on and run the race. But I mean something different. The best way to describe it is to use an example. Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God. However he was also being bludgeoned to death. So feelings become irrelevant under such extreme conditions. But I often wonder what he actually felt. Did he even feel any of the stones bashing at him while he gazed at the glory of God??
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Sorry, I can't answer that one NewManLiving from experience. My guess is that Stephen's flesh felt the "momentary lightness of affliction", just as Jesus felt the flogging, his crucifixion, and the thorny crown. But, his (Stephen's) spirit and soul were filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. And, the momentary lightness of Stephen's affliction at his stoning won't compare to the eternal weight of glory to be revealed upon him at Jesus' second coming.