Acts 17:19

Acts 17:19 says, And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?  Even though they called Paul a babbler, he met them where they were.  We are told they took him and brought him to Aeropagus, and asked him, "May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest, is?" Verse twenty adds, For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.  They said Paul brought certain strange things to our ears: they would like to understand what these things meant.  In order to reach people with the gospel today, we must first get them interested in it.  Verse twenty-one continues, (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)  Athenians and strangers spent their time in nothing else, but to tell or hear something new, and they heard Paul, even though they called him a babbler, had something new to tell them.  Many people today want nothing more than to hear the latest idea to improve their life.  They spend most of their time, and often a lot of their money, trying to find something that will bring happiness and purpose into their life.  When that fails and someone tells them of some great new plan, they jump on board, only to be disappointed once again.  If we attempt to share the gospel with them, they may call us babblers, or worse, but we, like Paul, must try to meet them where they are.  We must look for a way to make the gospel understandable for them.  Even though the gospel message is very simple, until a person accepts it through a God given faith, it is just babbling.  Paul did not take offence at their actions toward him, and neither can we.  He looked at who they were and for the best way to reach them, and God gave him a way.  We must never be upset if people call us names because we are Christians but must rely on God to provide us a way to witness to them.