Paul’s mission trip takes him, in Acts 17, to Greece and the city of Athens. It is there that he notices the idols to the various gods of Greek mythology. He also notices a very unique idol to the “unknown God.”
This piqued his interest and he began to engage the people about this unknown God. Paul wanted them to realize that this unknown God wasn’t really unknown. In fact, this unknown God was the very God of Israel. The God who created all things and is all things. The God who sent his son, Jesus Christ, to live, teach, guide, and, ultimately serve as the redeeming sacrifice for all creation.
In doing this, Paul helped to bring the people to an understanding of the true God who was not unknown, but was with them throughout all things. This is a task that we have, today, as well.
We live in a time in which more people claim they do know God. It is a time where we have made idols and worship other gods (money, sports, politics, self, etc.). What if we followed Paul’s tactics and used the things available to us to help bring people closer to God? What if we used money to show that God is the provider of all things? What if we used athletics to teach about how we all have different talents given to us from God? What if we used politics to show that God is the God of justice and truth?
What if we used what people know to show them the God of love, hope, peace, and truth?
Shannon Blosser 