ACTS 17:22-23

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. 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.

TO PONDER

I was a pretty keen student of Greek and Roman mythology as a teen. There is something compelling about the epic quests and adventures of stories like Jason and the Argonauts, or the ambition of Icarus who flew too close to the sun, or even simply the idea that the gods might walk disguised among the humanity. And although their stories and myths are vastly different from our own understanding, there is a connection point. Their gods walked among them.

Our God has come into his own creation to walk among his people. That was Jesus. Paul was an expert at finding these connecting points, opportunities to share the truth of Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. The example from today's reading is perhaps among one of the best and most well recognised. But it is a wonderful example of how we might engage in evangelism today.

Too often, Christians want to start with what the world has wrong. But Paul looks first for what he can affirm, then seeks to shed light on the darkness. There is a connecting point even for people in our anti-religious culture today, sometimes the key is in listening and watching to see how you can helpfully engage the world around you with the message of Jesus, rather than just seeing who can shout the loudest or stomp their feet the hardest.

I once heard someone say, Jesus didn't argue or convince people into the kingdom, he loved them into the kingdom. Perhaps we can start our efforts at mission and evangelism with love, and maybe those difficult discussions and arguments might not even be necessary.

PRAYER: Jesus, your love led you to the cross for my sake. Please help me to love others enough to first stop and listen to their heart, to hear what concerns them and to meet their actual needs and concerns and to pray and seek the right way to introduce them to you. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay, Newcastle.