16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
Our world is full of things that distract us from God, idols of a different kind, but do we find our spirits provoked? Sadly, I know mine is not nearly as much as it should be.
Acts 17
ReplyDelete10-11 The believers waited until dark and then sent Paul and Silas off to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the synagogue. The Jewish people here were more receptive than they had been in Thessalonica. They warmly and enthusiastically welcomed the message and then, day by day, would check for themselves to see if what they heard from Paul and Silas was truly in harmony with the Hebrew Scriptures.
21-25
Athenians: May we understand this new teaching of yours? It is intriguingly unusual. We would love to know its meaning.
Paul: Athenians, as I have walked your streets, I have observed your strong and diverse religious ethos. You truly are a religious people. I have stopped again and again to examine carefully the religious statues and inscriptions that fill your city. On one such altar, I read this inscription: “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.” I am not here to tell you about a strange foreign deity, but about this One whom you already worship, though without full knowledge. This is the God who made the universe and all it contains, the God who is the King of all heaven and all earth. It would be illogical to assume that a God of this magnitude could possibly be contained in any man-made structure, no matter how majestic. Nor would it be logical to think that this God would need human beings to provide Him with food and shelter—after all, He Himself would have given to humans everything they need—life, breath, food, shelter, and so on.
33-34 Paul left at that point, but some people followed him and came to faith, including one from Areopagus named Dionysius, a prominent woman named Damaris, and others.