Who Is Your God?
In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul had some time to kill; he was licking his wounds. Paul had been preaching about Jesus all through Macedonia. While Paul was seeing many conversions to the Christian Gospel, some did not like seeing the Christian faith spread. As a result, these enemies of Christianity attacked Paul and the new Christians. Paul had narrowly escaped serious harm when his friends dropped him off at Athens. Acts 17 tells us that while Paul waited in Athens, he was strolling through the city. As Paul looked around Athens, he saw many pagan idols. Each idol represented a different Greek god. Paul knew that there was only one God. Seeing the people of Athens worship false gods weighed heavily on Paul’s heart. So, while Paul waited for his friends to return to Athens he spoke about Jesus. He preached in the Jewish Synagogue, and he spoke in the marketplace. When word spread around Athens that there was a man with some "new" teachings, Paul was invited to speak. One of the favorite pastimes for Athenian citizens was to listen to the newest and the latest ideas.
When Paul spoke to the gathering of Athenian leaders, philosophers, and other listeners he began with these words, “Men of Athens I see that you are very religious." Paul caught their attention right off the bat because the word "religious" was a Greek word that had many implications. One meaning might be a compliment regarding one's dedication to the gods. Another meaning might point to the fact that you are nervous or timid about the gods and therefore you are not overly reliable in serving the gods. A third meaning was that you were superstitious and only related to the gods in order to keep your bacon out of the fire.
If Paul were speaking today maybe he would say: "God is not your personal genie. He is not a good-luck charm or the man upstairs." Just as people in the first century had strange and off-base ideas about God, many people have kooky ideas today. Many today think that God speaks through the newspaper horoscope or the latest zodiac interpretation. Ouija boards, séances, and spirit consultations are the rage today. Current culture believes that "truth" is whatever each person thinks it is.
The real truth is that God has always made Himself known. From the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, God spoke to His creation. God is our creator and is not bashful about making His will known. Because of God's strong love for us, He is not willing to let us miss the point regarding who He is and how we might know Him. An essential issue we must deal with is this — are we honestly and genuinely seeking God? Just like in Paul's day, many want to fashion and create false gods to serve their purposes. The real God of this universe will not stand for that. He is too big and majestic to be put in a box of our making. Who is your God? This is a question with eternal implications. Keep looking up!