Often times we will describe a person that is a victim of a tragedy as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the president used that phrase in describing the innocent students that were gunned down by a crazed gunman. When you think about it, that is not a good description. Those kids were exactly where they should have been, in class learning when it was in session. It was the gunman that was in the wrong. Being in the right place and doing the right thing doesn’t always mean good things will happen. The right place might be uncomfortable and tiresome. The right time may bring you ridicule and scorn. The rightness of your action may not be in the results but in action. A knocked door that is slammed in your face, a Bible study offered but not accepted, a lesson prepared but the class sleeps in, are examples of times when we are doing what is right but the results may be less than what we hoped for. That doesn’t mean we should quit doing those things. Wrong actions by another should not make us change our right behavior. As Jesus responded when he was questioned about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, we should also answer, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?''
In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...
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