Acts 17:16-34
Paul In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 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. 23 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.
24 “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. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 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. 27 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. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “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. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 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.”
32 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.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 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.
Jeremiah the Great Prophet’s lament is that God is near and listening...Though He is quiet, He is patient and silent, but He is still near us...The Prophet says: You came near when I called on you; You said, ‘Do not fear!’...God's Nature is this way so that we migh 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 personal being...As some of the Greek poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’...
Jeremiah the Great Prophet, a man deeply acquainted with sorrow and loss, captured the essence of God's Silent Presence in his lamentations...Though God may seem distant, He is patiently watching and listening and is ever-near...This Divine Paradox – God's patience and silence in the face of suffering – is a profound mystery that has puzzled humanity for centuries...It is a Divine Mystery, and part of His Divine Mystery as we search for Him...
Yet, within His silence, there is a profound hope...God's patience is not indifference; it is a strategic patience, a calculated silence...He allows suffering to unfold, not because He is indifferent, but because He is working out a Greater Purpose...In the midst of our trials, He is preparing us for something far greater...For God works all things together for the good of those who love Him...He knew His children before the world began, He knew those would seek Him, He destined them to be like His Son, called to believe in Him, declared them righteous, and He will ultimately glorify them with Eternal Life...
The Apostle Paul echoes this sentiment in Acts 17:27 to those in Greece: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is LORD of the heavens and earth, He does not dwell in temples made with hands...Nor is He worshiped with human hands as if He needed anything, since He Himself gives all people life and breath and everything...And He made from the first man every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and appointed predetermined times and the boundaries of their dwellings, that they should seek Him, if perhaps man might search and think of Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us; for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being.’...
Paul highlights the universal nature of God's Presence to the Athenians...He is not confined to temples or specific cultures...Instead, Paul is telling us the God is accessible to all people, regardless of their background or belief system...God desires a relationship with humanity, and He invites us to seek Him...We read that some of the people became followers of Paul and believed, while others did not believe...
Paul's phrase "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28) encapsulates the profound Truth that God is the Source of all life and all sustenance...He is the Ultimate Reality, the ground of our existence...Without Him, we would be nothing...God is the Source of All Life and Reality...Without Him, we would not exist...He is the ultimate Source of our being, and our lives find their meaning and purpose in Him...
This understanding of God's Nature and His relationship to humanity offers hope and comfort in times of suffering...It reminds us that even in the darkest moments, God is with us, working all things together for our good...By seeking Him through prayer, meditation, and a study of His Word, we can deepen our connection with Him and experience His peace, LOVE, and His Grace...