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love those epiphanic moments

This week in my New Testament class I noticed some things in the scriptures that were particularly touching.  I didn’t learn anything I didn’t know before, but I saw some symbolism in the scriptures that I just found profound.  And I learned that there are hidden gems in the scriptures all of the time, we just have to look hard enough. As my teacher pointed them out to me, I kept loudly whispering… “that’s so cool!” 

 
Acts Chapter 20 – the story of Eutychus.

Verse 7:
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from  the third loft, and was taken up dead.
And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
When he therefore was up again, and had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

Eutychus is a Fall of Adam type.
Paul is a Christ type.
And yes, while one could say – don’t fall asleep in church because bad things could happen to you – there is such profound symbolism here.

Aren’t we all like Eutychus here in some way?  Although we don’t believe that Adam’s transgression is our own, we still suffer the consequences for that sin. We all sin.  We all fall short every day.  We fall asleep in church.  We say hurtful things to people that we regret. We watch something we know we probably shouldn’t.

But, as Paul fell down on him and embraced him – Christ does for us.  If we let him.
And, we can do that for others as we follow Christ’s example.

This is such a beautiful image of Christ’s love to me.  He has suffered for me, he falls down to embrace me when I am fallen.  And through Christ, we can live again.

I love these golden nuggets in the scriptures.

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