Time Travel and the Bible

I’ve spent the last 8 to 10 hours preparing the sermon that I’ll be giving at 707 this Sunday night and the primary text that I’m working out of is Acts 17.16-34. These 18 verses talk about Paul’s time in Athens while he waited for the rest of his crew to catch up with him. This may be my favorite thing that happens in the life of Paul because there are so many interesting things happening while he’s in Athens.

I get the impression that Paul wasn’t really planning on being in Athens at all, but since he was there he thought he’d take a look around at all that the city was known for. It says that his spirit was “provoked” because he saw that the city was full of idols and so he ends up talking with whoever wants to talk about what they believe and what he believes. Somehow he ends up in front of the Areopagus and shares some amazingly brilliant stuff about how God has given us life and breath and everything else. He ends up quoting their own poets and an old creatan philosopher and then tells them about the death and resurection of Jesus.

This entire encounter blows my mind because it’s so outside the box. This guy Paul is randomly in Athens, sees the sights, learns the culture (or already knew it), and in some supernatural way opens a door from what they believe to the Truth. I especially love the idea that it’s in God that we live and move and have our being. Paul’s talking to a group of people who don’t know Jesus and don’t even believe in the God that Paul is preaching and yet he says that we are connected to this God just by living. Just by moving. Just by being.

Man. I love the Bible.

So I find myself sitting here in our spare bedroom that also acts as an office at times and I think about how much I wish I could go and watch this whole exchange go down. I found myself wishing that time travel was possible so that I could go and see Athens in it’s prime, watch Paul befriend a bunch of Athenians and then blow their mind with this Truth.

Oh well.

I guess until I get myself one of those flying deloreans I’ll have to settle for pictures from my buddy Josh’s trip to eurpoe this last summer.

picture courtsey of “to write with light”