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.

Psalm 139:1-6 English Standard Version

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

The Lord does this for each and every one of us. We are just individuals in a sea of souls. The one thing that makes us feel special in any relationship is intimacy. It is obvious that the Lord knows us intimately but that is only one side of intimacy. It takes two to be in an intimate relationship.

The Lord has done His part. If we do not feel special in this relationship, then that means we do not feel like we have done our part to establish intimacy. Knowing our Lord as thoroughly as He knows us appears to be beyond our capabilities to achieve. Verse 6 admits we cannot attain that kind of intimacy.

If we look to the issue of being betrothed to our Lord we will discover our humanity is part of this relationship. Father God has chosen humans to be His Son’s bride. Our ability to form intimate relationships is based on trust. We share our deepest parts of ourselves when we trust our partners. Christ, having been human, knows how that feels and will only reveal His deeper parts when He sees that we trust Him.

Psalm 37:3-5 English Standard Version

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[a]

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

Footnote [a] Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture

As we have shown in past posts, Christ is our faithfulness and He abides in us. The footnote indicates communion which is sharing, and our safe pasture abides in us, in the hidden parts.

Since that is true, what is keeping us from being intimate with Christ?