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?

Luke 2:5 - Joseph: A Good Father

Luke 2:5
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

How little credit we give to Joseph. He had to be a man of great faith, discipline and love. In a time when such things were not acceptable, he was seen as a man who had had sex with a woman before they were married.