Today I'd like to share a Bible story from Acts 20:7-12. I'd like to take you deeper into the story to see the sights and sounds, "the just like us" human side of the story, because the Bible is just as much about us as it is about the people who lived those stories. Enjoy.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Matthew 5:14
Children chattered and played as they walked with their parents carrying baskets of food and their lamps. Tonight was the last night to hear and visit with Paul before he sailed to Assos. There was a large house, three stories high, where they had agreed to gather. Neighbors watched as the little troop grew larger the closer they came to the house.
The ladies in the house welcomed the guests, taking the baskets and spreading the food along tables for
everyone to share. A little food, a little fellowship, a little preaching, because of the buzz of the house no one noticed how late the hour had become.
Eutychus, a young man, sat propped in a window to catch the night breeze and make room for the older folks to sit. As Paul preached toward midnight, Eutychus’ eyes began to droop and his head to nod. Several times, he’d caught himself from falling onto the old man seated in front of him. He rearranged himself, hoping to wake up. He wanted to hear, and he didn’t want to begin to snore, but his body slumped into slumber. Suddenly, his arms flailed. He toppled out the window to the street below.
People screamed. Lights poured into the streets. Eutychus was dead! The commotion awakened the neighbors. Paul pushed his way through the crowd and then gathered the young man in his arms. “His life is in him,” he declared as Eutychus’ eyes fluttered open.
“Hallelujah! Praise God! Thank you, Jesus!” came the exclamations from the crowd as they lifted their hands and faces heavenward.
"Thank you, Jesus? Who is this Jesus?" the neighbors whispered along the street. They watched as people filed back into the house, talking and praising.
Inside, people prayed, ate, listened, and asked questions until dawn, when the town began to stir again. Eutychus, the young man, was helped home as people dispersed. Neighbors watched and eyed the window where, last night, he had fallen.
Lamps through the night, a dead man raised alive, people praising Jesus. “We’ve never seen anything like this before.”
To think, it seemed to have started with lights shining in the darkness.
Heavenly Father, help us always be your shining light regardless of the hour or the circumstances. Even when we don't realize others are watching, may we still be prepared to be your witness. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Hey Kids:
It's easy to be kind, share, and play fair when we feel good, but what about when we begin to get tired? When it's bedtime and we feel grumpy, how do we react?
How can we let others see Jesus in us even when we don't always feel like it?
