Morning Coffee with Paul in Athens

While enjoying a cup of coffee, the beautiful breezes this fine fall morning, and an absolutely amazing, awe-inspiring prodding of the Holy Spirit to study in Acts, I was reading that while Paul was in Athens, he of course noticed all the "monuments". I assume he saw the Parthenon, the Acropolis, and all the other temples to all the gods of this and that that I remember reading about in 8th grade World History. Paul notices one marked "To The Unknown God". WOW. It hit me there right at that point! Paul had been approached by philosophers of "this-and-that" who said 'hey, tell us what YOU believe, as we are interested in learning about this-and-that'. WOW. That marker to 'the unknown god'.

It may have meant "to whatever god we've left out in all our construction of these temples and monuments", or "to whatever god there is we can't come up with yet"...but to ME, it meant "to GOD, we don't know Him". What do you think?

Anyway, that's what Paul went on to explain to the Athenian philosophers when as he shared the Gospel message:

Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it —He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live, so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring. ' Being God's offspring, then, we shouldn't think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

"Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead."

When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him. But others said, "We will hear you about this again." So Paul went out from their presence. However, some men joined him and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Again, I say WOW! So let me kinda summarize the scriptures here, a little editorial license?

1) The God who made the world is lord of heaven and earth.

2) He doesn't live in buildings or shrines, and is not made of gold, silver, stone...or anything we could dream up in our imaginations!

3) Out of Adam he made every man, he gave all of us breath and life...and determined where and when we should live, and set up the boundaries.

4) He created us to SEEK Him, to 'REACH OUT and FIND Him', though He is not very far away!

5) We can not serve Him by doing 'things'.

6) We have been ignorant of Him for far too long, He now commands us to repent, to turn from our sin, because we will soon be judged through the righteousness we have from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isn't this THE GOSPEL MESSAGE....what's supposed to be said when 'sharing the Gospel', it is what's to be proclaimed while embarking on 'the great commission'?

I'd say Paul's message at Athens is that we are to seek, reach out, and find the Lord....wouldn't you?