Your Own Poets

In Acts 17, Paul is in Athens, at Mars Hill, telling Jews, God-fearing Greeks, Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, and other foreigners and men of Athens all about Jesus Christ, his resurrection, and the God who made the world and everything in it. Paul tells his listeners how from one man God made every nation, so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him. In Acts 17:28 (NIV), Paul says, "For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'"

What is fascinating about this verse is that Paul uses Greek secular culture to evangelize to the Athenians. He quotes their own non-Christ-following poets as a means to drive home his point about God. This is a good lesson for us today. We should not be afraid to leverage today's popular culture and media as a means to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ. It is possible to do this and still be in the world but not of the world. It goes more toward the point of reaching people where they are, and understanding where they are coming from, and how their mindset and worldview is shaped, so as to be able to be more effective in reaching them. Paul did it effectively in Athens, and we have the opportunity to do it effectively today.