Acts 17:19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

The Roman name for Areopagus is Mars Hill and it served as the meeting place for the Areopagus Court, the highest court in Greece for civil, criminal, and religious matters. Even under Roman rule in the time of the New Testament, Mars Hill remained an important meeting place where philosophy, religion, and law were discussed.

This Thanksgiving my nephew and I met upon our own version of Areopagus, our own Mars Hill. Alone in a room filled with mother, father, and aunts, we spoke alone about high matters of interest upon which the topics varied in relevant terms of science and physics and theories that could to be explored.

Then came this issue of parallel universes upon which I have a unique perspective and that one being of a realm where time and space do not exist. I call it eternity and he did not agree. You see a meeting of the minds has to be based on terms and conditions of agreement and if those terms cannot be agreed upon, no framework can exist.

He insisted that the understanding must meet his terms and conditions. When I woke up this morning it dawned on me that his terms and conditions were not unlike those of my God who I hold as the ultimate authority on matters of eternity. It is after all where my God lives.

I have met the terms and conditions of my God in covenant relationship. He is the higher power, the higher authority and I cannot relinquish His terms and conditions in favor of those of a lesser authority.

Nephew, I am sorry that I cannot meet the terms and conditions of your demands. My explanation of God’s terms and conditions supersedes those of man and I do not have the authority to change those terms.

You cannot meet God on your own terms.