This true story has often been treated with amusement – the Apostle Paul preached for a long time until a young man, sitting in an open window-space, fell asleep and dropped three storeys onto the ground outside. Some say: therefore, preachers should keep people awake with short sermons, and not send them to sleep with long ones. But stop: the meaning is very different.

Paul, and his team, had travelled from Greece with humanitarian aid money in two different groups. They all met up again in Troas, in what is now north west Turkey. It was Sunday and they wanted to worship the Lord in the 'breaking of bread'. Their evening meeting was in an upper room, but the team were now not alone. The Lord had previously opened a door for the gospel (2 Corinthians 2:12), so the believers and others who wanted to hear more gathered to hear God's Word. There was much to say about Jesus and salvation, as the oil lamps flickered their yellow glow. Around midnight, a teenager called Eutychus could stay awake no longer: that was when he fell out of the window.

They all rushed downstairs. Paul embraced the limp body of the young man, like Elijah (1 Kings 17:21) and Elisha did (2 Kings 4:32-35), and he recovered. After that, the meeting continued, with Eutychus (meaning 'fortunate') much more awake! The 'breaking of bread' part of the evening had taken second place to the gospel preaching, but now it was right to give thanks to God for the life-giving power of Christ - whose death brought forgiveness of sins and wholeness (Psalm 103:1-5). After that, Paul did not stop, but continued to bring God's Word until after dawn, instructing the people how to follow Jesus Christ. It was Paul's last opportunity to speak the truth in Troas, and nothing would deflect him from delivering the message God had given him. When the ministry was complete, they took Eutychus home.

The greatest act of kindness is to tell people the truth about Jesus. We feel sorry for Eutychus; it must have been a struggle to stay awake after a long day, but Paul knew that God's Word must take priority, and trusted the Lord to look after everything else. Not even the accident should prevent gospel disciple-making. This passage is important because it teaches that nothing should get in the way of proclaiming Jesus Christ and His gospel. Today we are more likely to bend the ministry around the preferences of people, placing them and their circumstances as the controllers of gospel communication; allowing their frailty to dictate the message, instead of presenting the living Word as God's sovereign command (Acts 17:30). That gospel priority was Paul's commission and rule of life (Acts 20:25-27); it kept him going through the hardest circumstances (2 Corinthians 11:23b-28). Is it your Christian motivation too?