Acts 16:6-17:34 - Known

There is a lot that goes on in these two chapters of Acts but the section that most resonated in my heart was Paul's encounter with the people of Athens and his sermon on Mars Hill.   As he walks around Athens, he sees that the city is full of idols.  He even finds an altar with the inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.  (v.23).

The footnote in my NASB study Bible says "The Greeks were fearful of offending any god by failing to give him attention; so they felt they could cover any omissions by the label 'unknown God.' " 

Humans were created with an innate desire to worship.  Yet so often our worship is directed to a million things other than the One we were created to worship.  Paul sees an opportunity here to speak powerful truth to hearts that were misguided in their worship.

Paul tells them of a God who is not unknown.  He is the One who created the world, who gives life and breath to all things.  He cannot be contained in a temple built by human hands.  He is the sovereign God who desires not only to be worshiped but to be known.  Verse 27 tells us that He desires that all people would seek Him and find Him because He is not far from us.  

This truth is for us as well.  God is not an unknown god who is far off, who desires for us to just do a lot of good things to please Him. No, He is the one true God that we were created to worship and created to know.  Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, He made a way for us to enter into relationship with Him and, as sons and daughters of the Most High King, to know Him intimately.

The other side of this powerful truth is that God knows us.  Psalm 139 gives an incredible account of God's intimate creation and knowledge of each of us.  Verse 3 says that He is intimately acquainted with all my ways.  That's amazing, really.  That the same One who put the stars in their places also numbered the hairs on my head.  This is one of my favorite truths about God.  He is infinitely big and infinitely personal.  

Are we living in the incredible truth that we are known by the God of the universe, the Creator of all things?  And are our hearts burning with the truth that God desires to be known by all people?  So many of our neighbors and friends are worshiping at altars to an unknown God.  They don't know their Creator who is intimately acquainted with all of their ways and who desires to be known by them.  So may we live in the power of the truth that we know God and are known by God and may we pour out this truth to those who so desperately need to hear it.