Today I’d like to invite you to “sit” with me on Mars Hill; in Greek it’s called the Areopagus. The photo I’ve included is taken from this spot. It’s one of my favorite places to go and pray for the city of Athens, where I live. Spend some time taking in the view of the city: The ruins at the base of the hill that represent centuries of history and culture. The many apartment buildings where families and individuals live life everyday. The mountains in the background of the city with the beautiful blue skies and clouds overhead.
Paul preached to people in Athens about the unknown God, here on Mars Hill in Acts 17.
Read Acts 17:22–34:
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.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
Athens is known as the “gateway to Europe” from the Middle East. It’s a place where people flee to start new lives and often struggle to do so. Men and women are trafficked here from nearby countries. Greece’s recent economic crisis has led to many Greeks having to work very hard to make ends meet. There’s no way to walk through even the nicest parts of Athens and not see clear evidence of brokenness and need in my city. In recent days, I’ve been personally stirred by the reality that God, specifically as our Creator, longs to have a relationship with us. It’s moved me to see the brokenness and the need around me in a new way.
In looking at this passage, I’m struck by Paul’s words: EVERY nation of mankind, his creation, would seek him, feel their way toward him and find him. And in response that ALL peoples EVERYWHERE would repent. How amazing would it be to see EVERY nation, ALL peoples, EVERYWHERE doing this? In the face of what the Lord knows is brokenness, he’s longing for ALL of his creation to know him. It’s so personal.
This picture of feeling your way toward God and then finding him makes me smile. It’s almost like a game of hide and seek. Feeling your way toward him and then finally finding him and saying “Found ya!” But the gift is that God’s not hiding; he’s actually waiting out in the open for ALL peoples, the broken and needy of our cities and the world, to draw near and repent.
To end today, take in a deep breath, pause and close your eyes, imagine the space God’s called you to live. What do you see? What do you feel? Reread the verses and spend time praying that those around you would seek, feel their way toward and find their Creator God who loves them more than they could ever know.
If you’d like to receive a PDF of this entire devotional series sign up here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ana G has lived in Athens, Greece for almost 5 years and been with Novo for 2.5 years. Ana’s time is spent praying with the local house of prayer, partnering with a local Greek church, and doing outreach with local organizations who serve “the least of these” in Athens. One of her favorite titles in life is “Tina Ana,” the name her nephews and nieces call her.