Last week, I shared the first part of a speech that St. Paul delivers on the Aeropagus on Mars Hill in Athens. Paul is debating and arguing with the Jews and others about their worship of pagan and false gods, and preaching about Jesus and the resurrection. Paul is the first to preach Christianity in Athens and not surprisingly, he catches the attention of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. They take Paul to the Aeropagus and order him to talk more about the new doctrine that he is teaching:

“And they took hold of him [Paul] and brought him to the Aeropagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new teaching is which you present? For you bring some strange things to our ears; we wish to know therefore what these things mean.'” Acts 17: 19-20

Paul concludes his remarks with two sentences rich in meaning. First, Paul says:

“Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man.” Acts 17: 29

By reminding us that we are God’s offspring, Paul confirms that we are made in God’s image. (Genesis 1: 26-27) Knowing that God is Love (1 John 4: 16), Paul infers that we, like God our Father, are all beings — God is a Divine being and we are human beings, all created to love and to be loved. While we can certainly form emotional attachments to things made out of gold or silver, it’s impossible to form a meaningful and mutual bond with inanimate objects “that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.” (Deuteronomy 4: 28)

It is, however, entirely possible to build and sustain a relationship with a Living God. From the beginning, this has been God’s plan for us:

For Moses said, “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4: 29

Think about the Ten Commandments handed down by God to Moses (Exodus 20: 1-20), which are all about how to live in relationship with one another. The first four Commandments focus on our relationships with God and our parents; and the other six focus on all the other relationships that exist in our lives. Yes, God is a Divine and Holy Being above all else. He is also a Living and Loving Being who is constantly inviting us into deeper relationship with Him.

Paul’s revelation about God must have caused the philosophers and intellectuals to wonder about the pagan idols spread across their city. Is it possible these great thinkers have missed the truth about God? And about Jesus?

The fact is that our lives are cluttered with idols still today. Why do we get caught up in the jobs we have or the cars we drive or the houses we live in or the jewelry and clothes we wear? Why do we care more about what our neighbors think than what God thinks? How is it that we wear crosses on our bodies and display religious artifacts in our homes but can’t seem to get out of bed thirty minutes early each day to spend time with God?

Let’s face it — it is easy to take our eyes off God. This is a dangerous thing because we miss what He is trying to show us. God does not generally speak to us in big and loud ways. He is usually not in the earthquakes and wind and fires. Instead, God is the still, small voice that speaks to us in the everyday things of life. (1 Kings 19: 11-13) The less time we spend getting to know God and His Ways, the more chances we have of pursuing things on earth that do not help us or anyone else make it to heaven. This is how and why Jesus comes into our lives.

Here is the final sentence of Paul’s speech on Mars Hill:

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed, and of this He has given assurance to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17: 29-31

In the first phrase above, Paul confirms God’s willingness to overlook our times of ignorance. Not long after God shares the Ten Commandments with Moses, it becomes clear that people are missing the point of these Commands. We observe so many Old Testament characters have an encounter with God that impacts them significantly and emboldens them to live differently. But after some time, they begin to slip back into their old ways of living, moving further away from God and missing the point of what it means to live and to love and to be loved by God.

So God, in His Infinite Mercy, sends Jesus to earth to show us the way back to God. Jesus — the Living Word and Promise of God — becomes flesh and lives among us for a time. (John 1: 14) Jesus shows us that to know God requires that we allow our hearts and minds and lives to be transformed by Jesus.

St. Paul speaks of being transformed by Jesus:

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove [or live out] what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12: 1-2

Through the final sentence of his speech on the Aeropagus, Paul describes that this transformation comes through repentance. In a Biblical sense, repentance is not just about feeling sorry for past sins. The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary describes repentance as a “change of mind” —

“In response to the call of God in one’s life, there must be repentance, that is, the willful determination to turn from a life of sin and self-rule to a life ruled by God and lived in His righteousness.1”

Paul concludes his speech on the Aeropagus by affirming the urgency of our repentance:

” … because He [God] has fixed a day on which He [Jesus] will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom He [God] has appointed, and of this He [God] has given assurance to all men by raising Him [Jesus] from the dead.” Act 17: 31

Shortly before Jesus was crucified, Jesus tells believers and non-believers alike that He will return to judge the living and the dead. (Matthew 25: 31-46) By examining the details of our lives, Jesus will decide who transcends death to spend eternal life with God — and who will be cast into the fires of hell and separated forever from God.

God loves us so much. He does not want any of us remain separate from Him. But St. Paul tells the Athenians on Mars Hill — and all of us who read his speech — that we choose to separate from God by choosing to remain ignorant of of who Jesus is and why He comes to dwell with us.

I imagine Paul standing in the middle of that rocky hill near the Acropolis, passionately delivering his plea for repentance. Paul knows the power of repentance. Remember that before Paul responds to Jesus’ call to repent, he is persecuting and killing Christians! Paul’s decision to follow Jesus transforms him into one of the world’s most influential apostles and the author of a significant portion of the New Testament. (Acts 9: 1-22, Acts 22: 1-21, Acts 26: 1-23)

Paul’s transformation and his impact on the world is truly stunning. ♥️

I would argue that every transformation in Christ and through Christ is stunning and beautiful. ♥️

I think sometimes we worry too much about being enough for Jesus. I think we worry too much about what we might lose or give up in choosing to follow Him. And I think sometimes we even worry about whether it’s too late to follow Jesus. Does He even still remember me? Will He really forgive me, if I stop sinning? And will I be able to keep my mind and heart focused on Jesus?

The choice to follow Jesus is always ours to make. The world is filled with endless distractions, but Paul assures us that Jesus will be faithful to those who decide to follow Him and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can endure. (1 Corinthians 10: 13)

Even as we follow Jesus, there are trials, but He leads us through them. (John 16: 33) When we turn to Jesus and draw near to Him, He draws near to us. (James 4: 8) Jesus strengthens us in ways we cannot even imagine and gives us everything we need to lead good and loving lives. (Philippians 4: 13)

The choice to follow Jesus is simple.

The best things in life are always simple and right before us.

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36: 26-28

1Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), Pages 1375-1376.