Acts 17:21 English Standard Version (ESV) Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

We left off yesterday asking ourselves what is keeping us from being intimate with Christ.

Here Luke tells us of a group of men that do nothing except sharing something new. That sounds like a group of men in intellectual pursuit of feeding each other’s ego.

Is this a proper definition of time well spent? Obviously they had to eat and drink to sustain the time spent with each other but what kind of time did they spend with those who served them?

This all took place at the Areopagus. The Areopagus is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The Areopagus literally meant the rock of Ares in the city and was a center of temples, cultural facilities, and a high court. Ares was the Greek god of war. This is a place where ideas, ideologies and theologies were contested.

Religion, culture and justice were all put on display on this prominent rock, high and lifted up, separated from the common men and women. This is just the opposite of what Jesus Christ did because He lived His life with sinners.

Now He lives His life in us.

The time we spend with Him defines our intimate relationship. This life in Him isn’t about religion, culture or justice. It is about His sharing His life with us and making it about those things that define life, people who need Him in their lives.

It comes down to where we spend our time. It is time to stop making excuses.