Please don’t skip over this devotion because you’re just not into learning about the Areopagus,

or you don’t know how to pronounce it, or you don’t think it’s that important. I almost skipped

over it myself! Stay with me, and I hope to change your mind.

Areopagus is the name of a place and the name of a group of people. The place was a rocky hill

not far below the Acropolis (where the Parthenon is located), and it overlooked the marketplace

in Athens, Greece.

The group of people called the Areopagus was a council or court of no more than thirty select

scholarly sorts who originally met on the hill by the same name. They tried homicide cases and

dealt with matters of public morals. But their main activity and that of many of the Athenians

seemed to be hearing new ideas or gaining new bits of knowledge. The writer of Acts puts it this

way:

For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else

but either to tell or to hear some new thing. (Acts 17:21)

This council was curious about the doctrine Paul had been preaching in the synagogues and

took him up to the Areopagus to find out more and satisfy their curiosity. From what historians

say about this group of people, they weren’t really interested in taking some kind of action or

reaching some kind of conclusion – they just really liked to talk and add more to their wealth of

knowledge.

At this point, my thought was: that’s just silly – learning stuff and doing nothing with it. But then

the conviction hit me – do we sometimes do the same? Do we learn a lot about God and do

nothing with that information? Are we seeking more knowledge about God – more facts about

who He is -- or are we seeking God Himself? Are we taking great notes during sermons and

Bible studies -- but not spending personal time with the Creator of the universe, being still and

knowing that He IS God!

I do hope that, like the Areopagites, you love to learn more about God – but, unlike them, I hope

you are doing something with what you’re learning, doing something for God and His kingdom.

May God bless you richly as you apply the lessons you’re learning from sitting at His feet.

By Judy Shrout