“Reach Out For Him”
Paul then stood up in
the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men 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. Now what you worship as something unknown
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 hands. And he is not served by human hands,
as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and
everything else. From one man he made every nation of men,
that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times
set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that
men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not
far from each 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 man's 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 all men 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."
Acts
17:22-32
How do you break down
barriers to establish a dialogue? Talk about something of common interest –
worship, things you deal with as a neighbor, work, or sports.
To reach out to
people who need to hear about God’s love, look for common language – and watch
the barriers fall.
God’s
love can break down barriers.
Our Daily Bread –