Adventures in Odyssey Home Page

The Time Has Come

Album: 25: Darkness Before Dawn

Episode: 330

Lesson/Theme: Salvation.

Bible Verse: Ephesians 2:8-9

Characters: Bernard, Connie, Eugene, Whit, Tom

Writer: Paul McCusker

Sound Designer: Dave Arnold

Original Air Date: September 2, 1995

Last Air Date: April 29, 2009

Description:
In the midst of the evil encompassing Odyssey, Eugene's spiritual journey has been moving full steam ahead. He's been stripped of everything he's ever cared about: Whit is gone, Katrina has left Odyssey because of Eugene, and now Whit's End has closed and is in the hands of Glossman and Dr. Blackgaard. Eugene wants to help in the battle, but Jack wisely points out that Eugene can't. It's a spiritual battle Eugene isn't equipped to fight. Jack challenges Eugene. Jack says that if Eugene thinks over all his experiences in Odyssey, he'll see that everything points to the inevitable: Sooner or later, Eugene must make a decision about Jesus Christ. Fortunately, Eugene and the other employees of Whit's End aren't banned from the emporium. Thanks to Jason's pleading and political connections, they have permission to come to the shop. So Eugene decides to use the Imagination Station's data banks to "search" Odyssey's history for any references about the mysterious mineral under Whit's End. To test his search program, Eugene decides to take Jack up on his challenge, to search through his own life in Odyssey. Eugene does, and he re-lives many scenes from his past that have pointed him toward Jesus Christ. Eugene comes out of the Imagination Station ready to say "yes" to the Lord's call. And what begins as a tender moment of prayer between Jack and Eugene turns comical as Connie, Bernard, and Tom show up to share in Eugene's decision. The only one missing is Whit. But even he is represented when, on the downstairs phone, he calls and leaves a message of encouragement on the answering machine. Finally, Eugene Meltsner becomes a new creation.

Questions:
Why did Eugene feel so uninvolved with the battle for Odyssey? Why did Jack think that the only way Eugene could become effective in the fight was to become a Christian? Why was it so obvious to Eugene that after looking over his life, he needed to accept Christ?