Eutychus: Staying Connected and Alert
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
Memory Verse
Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” (NIV)
I have a confession to make: I’ve fallen asleep in church. Maybe that hasn’t happened to you, but do you sometimes find yourself distracted from what God is doing in church? Your mind is somewhere else or you can’t focus on what’s going on in front of you. Eutychus learned a painful lesson about staying alert when he fell asleep during an all-night church service, fell out of a window, and died!
Paul was leaving in the morning. He had so much left to say to this new little church, and they were so eager to hear from him, that they all brought over their lamps and settled in for an all-nighter! What enthusiasm! God was doing something amazing here and everyone was eager to be a part of it! We don’t know why Eutychus put himself in the window. Was it a good place to see everything going or was it a comfy seat? Maybe he sat there so he could look out at the city, maybe to be alone with his thoughts. Whatever the reason, Eutychus was not actively participating in what was going on in the room, he fell asleep, and then fell to the street below. That was a steep price to pay for not being alert!
But Eutychus’ fall is not the end of the story. Paul rushed out of the house and showed God’s power by raising him from the dead! God showed his power through a sleepy young man. The whole community went home comforted. Eutychus became part of God's story that night, though next time the believers met together, he probably stayed more alert.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, Help me to stay connected to other believers so I can see ways you are trying to teach me and have me be part of your story. Amen.Related Resources
Heather Altena
Heather Altena grew up in West Michigan, moved to the West Coast, and now lives just two blocks west of Chicago. She attends Pullman Christian Reformed Church and works various teaching-, literary-, writing-, theater-, and computer-related related jobs for the Southwest Chicago Christian School Association. She and her husband, Christian, have four children in their teens and twenties and are learning the truth of the magnet on their fridge: "The first 40 years of parenting are the hardest."