Eutychus

Acts 20:7-12

As Paul was travelling, he spent seven days in Troas. The night before he was leaving, he held a discussion with the people of Troas and he continued to speak until midnight. A young man Eutychus was also there sitting by the window. As Paul continued to speak, he fell asleep and fell down to the ground three floors below and he was picked up dead. But Paul took him in his arms and calmed them down. Paul continued and conversed with them until dawn; and the young man was taken alive.

This is quite an unique story. I think many of us would readily identify ourselves with the young man – falling asleep during a sermon.

Though Eutychus was a young man, at his prime, he was overcome by sleep. Today, in the church, many young people are overcome by different things too. Many of the young people in the church have now been overcome by indifference to the word of God, negligence in attending church services and activities, refusal to hear the word of God, laziness and interests in worldly things (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2-4).

We have become too immersed in other things that we want a shortcut and easy way out of things. We hate preachers who preach for too long. We do not care for the Spirit anymore. We simply want to be called Christians by name, but refuse to be true Christians in practice. There is no shortcut.