August 7th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Motivated Mission

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Opening Prayer

Lord, today I want to tune my heart and mind to the frequency of the Spirit. I will trust and obey.

Read Acts 17:16-34

[16] While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. [17] So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. [18] A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. [19] Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? [20] You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” [21] (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) [22] Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. [23] For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship-and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. [24] “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. [25] And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. [26] From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. [27] God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. [28] ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ [29] “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by human design and skill. [30] In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. [31] For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” [32] When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” [33] At that, Paul left the Council. [34] Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“A poor life this, if full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare” (William Henry Davies, 1871-1940).

Think Further

Waiting is frustrating. Paul, however, put his time waiting for Silas and Timothy to good use: he looked around (16). Whether by necessity or choice, this was a significant act of critical reflection. Athens was full of idols, and that “greatly distressed” him (16). Luke uses the word from which we get our word “paroxysm.” What effect would looking at your home town have on you?

Paul’s reaction wasn’t just emotional; it motivated and shaped his preaching. In such a diverse city, Paul demonstrated remarkable skill in communicating with very different groups. He spoke with Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue, then every day with people in the market place, including Stoic and Epicurean philosophers (17,18). Clearly he needed more than one or two well-tried sermons: Luke tells us that he reasoned and debated with these groups. Nevertheless, it still led to misunderstanding and he was called a “babbler” (someone who merely collects other people’s ideas, “a word-scatterer”).

More seriously, he was accused of “advocating foreign gods” (18) and was brought before the Areopagus, the Athenian court with jurisdiction over religion (22). This was the same accusation which led to Socrates’ death 450 years earlier. However, it seemed that they wanted to hear what Paul had to say. His sharp eye had noticed the altar to an “unknown god” and this was who he told the Athenians he would proclaim (23). Today, with increasing ignorance about the Christian faith and a proliferation of other faiths, we, like Paul, need to be ready to explain our understanding of God (24-30). The end point of Paul’s teaching remained the same, the resurrected Christ (31). The three reactions to his message are typical today: some sneered, some wanted to know more and some believed (32,34).

Apply

How could you explain the Gospel in a way that relates to the needs and issues of your home town? Where would you start?

Closing prayer

Lord, I need Your heart for the lost. Teach me from the example of Paul what it means to help others come to faith in You.

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