(All the Athenians and the foreigners who live there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest idea.) Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said…” Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:21, 22a, 23b).

Here’s a link to the entire passage!

“As children we were good at joining something we didn’t initiate. We can do it again.” (Mandy Smith, Unfettered, p.12)

When I was a kid on the farm, our neighborhood consisted of random houses along our stretch of gravel country road. 

There were, of course, grown-ups living there, but I mostly remember the kids. To little-girl-me, the kids were the neighborhood. (Most unfortunately there was only one other girl in our neighborhood, whereas my brother had enough boys to make two teams for any game he wanted to play. They all blithely argued their way through said game and wholeheartedly had a ball.)

This probably sounds like I’m a long way from Paul in Athens! But my point is that like the boys in our neighborhood, Paul, too, joined something he hadn’t initiated. Something that was on-going. He joined the Athenians’ “game“ of gathering in the marketplace or on the Areopagus to listen to the latest ideas. 

At their invitation— “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?” (Acts 17:19b)—Paul wholeheartedly entered this game. After all, he knew he had something life-changingly important to share with these “Men of Athens,” to whom he said, “I see that in every way you are very religious.” He had been thrown the ball and he ran with it.

Not everyone in that “neighborhood” appreciated what Paul had to say. This would not have surprised, or sidetracked, Paul. From his days of persecuting Christ-followers, he knew what it was like to see things from a way-off-base perspective. But, more importantly, he knew what it was like to see things from God’s perspective. 

Therefore, Paul played the Athenians’ game by their rules. But he brought his skills of wisdom and rhetoric to the game. He brought his empathy and respect. And, I believe it is obvious he brought the all-in-ness of a kid.

Which gets us to 21st century Chatham County North Carolina. We live in all sorts of neighborhoods here. Some have more kids than others—although even our older neighborhoods are sure to have someone who at least thinks like a kid. Maybe that someone can be you? Can be me?

As Mandy Smith said, “As children we were good at joining something we didn’t initiate. We can do it again.”  All it really takes is the abandon of a child and the message of a Savior to propel us into some really great neighborhood discussions.