Is it easier to pull an all-nighter at a party or at church? This church knew they would not see Paul for a long time. They signed on all night long from midnight to dusk to hear Paul speak truth into their lives. A young man named Eutychus couldn't stay awake. How many of us are not awake either, spiritually speaking. This man was given to the opportunity to rise again from the dead. Acts 20:9
Jaws dropped! Awestruck! No other way to explain what they witnessed! God resurrected life back into this young boy robbed of his breath. Eutychus.
Maybe we are sleeping through our sermons. Or, we may be wide awake and sleeping. We can be raised to new life. As Crabb says, beneath every word exists an energy that reflects either our fallenness (3 floors down) or our Redemption.
Acts 20:12 - "And they were not a little comforted." May we not settle for anything less than Redemption and Resurrection in our lives.
Earlier this Summer my neighbor's two-year-old grandson fell out of her screened porch one flight and hit a brick wall. He was in intensive care for two days. A week later he was just fine with absolutely no sign of the accident. I am STILL awestruck when I think about little Tanner. I will never forget the sound of my neighbor, Sharon's voice as she told me about it; or the sight of her sitting quietly alone by her (usually crowded) pool the next day. I felt sick, then never more Grateful to God when I heard he was okay!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder why the words of this story about Eutychus didn't hit me the same way? And, why do I question whether it is true or not? I so want His Word to affect me differently. I want to feel the intensity... but most importantly I want to believe every word of it! God help me be changed and help me overcome my unbelief!
Okay, sorry to be so honest on here... sort of! :)
I love the story of Eutychus. It's us on so many levels--asleep at the wheel of life...sitting in the window on the sidelines...bored perhaps with what is going on in front of us...while LIFE is being presented to us.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, our miracle comes--He breathes into us new life, a fresh infusion of His Spirit, an eternal respiration of energy, and another chance, a clean slate to start again. Love Crabb's words -Is our energy of fallenness or redemption.
Redemption is more about His Work than anything about ourselves. We fall. He saves us over and over again.
Sing them over again to me--wonderful words of Life!