Acts 17:22-23 - What Kind of Athenian?

Acts 17:22-23:
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.”

Some say it is "Nature." Some call it the "Cosmos." Some refer to it as "The Great Spirit." Others just call it "The Force."

In some way, most of us recognize there is something greater than ourselves.

These ancient Athenians did also -- and were careful to not exclude whatever it was from their worship. They had built an altar to the "Unknown God."

They had no real idea of how to worship Him, but they recognized a need that was not being met by the other "gods" they worshiped.

Paul, when before them, took advantage of the existence of this altar to begin explaining who their "Unknown God" was.

He did not find it necessary to berate them or ridicule them for their ignorance, but instead, saw it as an opportunity to give them knowledge.

When we are faced with someone who does not know God, do we try to educate them? Or do we tend to think of them as someone beneath us?

As we interact with each other, we will undoubtedly find there are those who know less than we do -- and others who know more.

The Athenians were people who appreciated knowledge -- and to their credit, they wanted to hear more -- and some became believers.

Some sought knowledge for knowledge sake -- but still felt they were in the judgment seat of what they would accept or deny.

Others sought knowledge -- and accepted anything that was true -- even when contrary to their original beliefs. They acted on knowledge.

Which type of "Athenian" are we? As we study and learn, is our goal to only bolster our positions and beliefs? Or are we more interested in learning the truth, and letting it dictate our actions?

To all of us, God is "unknown" to some degree. Studying His word, and learning more and more of Christ, is our way of learning who He is.

As we hear and learn of Him, do we seek to know and catalog our understanding on a dusty shelf? Or does our new found understanding cause us to hunger for more knowledge of God?

John 14:6: Jesus answered, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."