The Bible Matters Because _______________. Намуна

 The God They Don’t Know Yet

By American Bible Society

The missionary walks through a city full of idols. It’s a religious city, and an intellectual one. Smart and urbane, the Athenians love to hear about new ideas—including ideas about new gods. Many Greeks have already accepted the notion that a divine being created them. They may differ with each other over what it means to live a good life, but they agree that death is final: their bodies subject to decay, their essence annihilated, their personalities absorbed into abstraction.

Paul is no country bumpkin. Already familiar with the Greek way of looking at things, he strolls through Athens like a tourist, leaning down to inspect inscriptions and overhearing bits of conversation at a market stall. But Paul isn’t looking for souvenirs. He seems to be looking for an entry point. How can you tell a city of idol-worshipers about the Creator they haven’t met yet?

He finds his answer in a shrine set up “To an Unknown God.” In their fervor to cover all the bases, the Athenians have made altars not only to the gods they know, but to one they don’t know—just in case. Paul sees this attempt to garner divine favor as a profound hunger, one he recognizes from his own heart. Right away, he sets out to tell them the good news: this unknown God wants to be known.

Still today, people share these same fundamental longings, no matter what they believe about God. Like the Athenians of old, our friends and neighbors are looking for hope and fulfillment. Many share a deep desire for meaning, a purpose greater than themselves. 

Why should people read the Bible? Because that’s where they can find the God they don’t know yet. How can we share God’s truth with them? Taking guidance from Paul’s example, we act respectfully and humbly, looking past differences to our shared desires. We approve of our friends’ searching, affirm their strengths, and gently share our experience of how Jesus meets our gut-level longings. 

This approach doesn’t guarantee popularity. Some of the Athenians laughed at Paul. But some listened. Our friends might hear us say something preposterous, but in our words they also sense an affirmation of their own deepest desires. Something small, almost ignorable, shifts within them. Partly incredulous, still, they lean in to hear more.