Acts 17:15-34 (The Message)
24-29 “The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?
One of the big points of contention in the Reformation was the role of the Pope and of Mary as a co-redeemer. the reformers believed that salvation only came through Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. In Acts 17 Paul has gone to Athens and is waiting for his friends to arrive. As he investigated the city he found statues and idols to all the gods that were worshiped. He was engaged in conversation with Epicureans who structured their lives around pleasure and Stoics who on the other hand sought virtue. These philosophers engaged Paul in debate and wanted to know about his religion. Paul had seen a statue to “the Unknown God” and used it as an inroad to talk about Christ as the one true God.
Paul seems to be drawing a line between God, the creator, and we the “God-created.” The created cannot redeem another person. Salvation can only be found in Christ, the creator. So how does that impact our thinking and living? Only the creator sees the big picture and the purpose for my life. Only the creator has the power to step in and redirect his creation. Only the creator has personal interaction with his creation as he forms and molds it into his dreams. Those are a few ideas. Perhaps today is a good time to thank God for his creative work in your life and those around you.
On the Way to Wonder 