The martyrdom of Stephen was a display of commitment that God used to change the Christian church and the world. It was the watershed moment between a local religious group and a worldwide church. But that commitment didn’t just happen in a moment. And it didn’t come from just one man. Look at all the displays of commitment in this reading. The church was committed to serving the members of its family. The Apostles were committed to the ministry of the word. The deacons stood up and made a commitment to doing their duty. God didn’t have one committed follower, he had a committed church that cultivated and prepared a committed man. Then God gave him the opportunity to show the ultimate commitment.  Every day we have opportunities, large and small, to live our commitment to Christ. Don’t underestimate the importance of the small commitments! Every small step you don’t take prepares you to not take the big step that could be coming. But in every small step you take God is training you and preparing you for joy and service and an eternity that is more rewarding than anything in this world.