Paul then stood up in the council of the Areopagus and spoke: “People of Athens! I see that you are very religious in every way. For as I was walking around and looking carefully at your objects of worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: To an unknown God.”
Acts 17:22-23
true god is not unknown
In the time of the Apostle Paul, the people of Athens worshiped many gods. However, they were worried that they might not know about all the gods, and that a minor god might bring some disastrous consequences upon them. Therefore, in all their idolatry, they set up another altar to a god they did not know.
We can look down our noses at these ignorant pagans in our scientific knowledge. But are we really that different? If we invited Paul to walk into our lives, what would he see? He may not see the little idols made of silver or gold that we pray to. But this does not mean that we are not tempted to worship idols. Consider that an idol for us is really anything, anywhere, or anyone that we consider more important than God or what He commands. We need to honestly ask: Have we ever set our hearts on money or the things that money can buy rather than on God and His promises? Or has a click on a computer screen ever led us to seek happiness and joy in the wrong places?
Satan will cause us to despair of knowing God and the salvation He has done for us. He’ll say, “Why would God want to know you, despite all your sins?” The truth is that God sought you and me and revealed Himself to us through His Son. The true God is not unknown to us. By the power of the Holy Spirit through the gospel, you and I know God. We know that He has forgiven our sins through Jesus. And because of that, we will always know God.
Prayer:
Lord, you have opened my eyes to see you as my Savior and to know you as my Lord. Continue to reveal Yourself to me through Your Word so that I may increase my knowledge of Your love and grow closer in my relationship with You. Amen.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used with permission from Zondervan. All rights reserved world wide.
