Day 41

Memorize: Touching farewell from Ephesians

Acts 20

Key Verses: 9, 18, 20, 29, 34, 38

Paul is on his farewell tour, visiting the Jesus-followers in the places he previously preached and lived. In the city of Troas he ends up preaching all night, interrupted only by having to raise back to life a young man who fell asleep, and fall out of a three story window to his death. The lesson is this: if you are going to preach all night, allow someone to die, raise him back to life, and then the adrenaline will keep everyone awake for the rest of the night. The real lesson is a very practical one: physical restraints inhibit the ability of the human mind to absorb what is being taught. No matter how good a preacher is, they can only talk so long before weariness sets in. People need breaks.

Paul discusses his personal affect, he lived a life of tears and humility. He was not living high on the hog as he shared the Gospel. He worked with his hands to provide for his own needs. He did not restrict himself to large venues. He also was humble enough to go house to house. His goals was to be helpful, eternally helpful to those to whom he preached. He knows that some will come after him and try to destroy the faith of these people for whom he cares deeply, and yet he leaves. He must leave, but his heart remains tender toward them.

And the people to whom Paul preached felt very attached to him. They did not want to see him leave. Goodbyes are part of life. They can be painful, but they happen no matter how hard we try to prevent them. I think of the deaths of service men and women in recent years, of the I75 car pileup in Florida that killed eleven people, those struck with cancer, the boy killed by a dog, the inevitable moves to different parts of the country and world. The list could go on and on. These are all goodbyes, and they can be painful.

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