17:26 And He has made
from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him
and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live
and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we
are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we
ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone,
something shaped by art and man’s devising.
God. He can be a touchy subject. Some choose to believe He
does not exist although a philosopher would say that to deny the existence of
someone is to affirm their existence.
It is my firm belief that the reason some deny Him is because
they misunderstand Him. For this I do not blame them. Among those who profess
to believe are multiple descriptions and pictures of Him. Why? Because we
create a God of our own choosing. That's what idolatry really is. We fashion
God into what appeals to us.
Why are there so many religions and so many fractures and
factions within each one? Because we fashion God according to what we want.
Some say He's angry and vengeful. Some say He is not. Some say He is all
powerful and all knowing. Some say He is not. Some say He created us but is
indifferent to our problems and ultimately our destiny. Others say He cares
very much.
The Greeks had multiple gods. Some of them appealed to some
people more than others.
Into all this confusion stepped Paul. He used the admission
that there was an unknown God to speak to them about the One True God. He made
one basic point. We are the creation of His hands. He is not the creation of
our hands.
What we believe is up to us. However what we believe does not
change what is. What we believe will deeply impact how we live but it won't
change ultimate truth. Recently a woman ate a mushroom she believed was safe
and edible. Turns out it wasn't and she died. Her belief caused her to eat but
it did not change the poisonous properties of the mushroom.
Independent of what I say or believe, God is. He us
unchanging and unchangeable. He has done everything possible to have each one
of us stumble across His path even though He was never far from any one of us.
If you want to know what He is like, look at Jesus. If you
see Him you see God. Watch Him stoop to help a stranger in need. Watch Him
defend the defenseless and treat with dignity the downtrodden. Watch Him cross
the tracks to help those on the other side. Watch Him break down the traditions
and rules man made and uplift the truth about His Father. Watch Him die just so
you can have the freedom to choose God or spit in His face.
Beliefs vary widely but He remains. He created the gold,
silver, and stone. Before we were He always was.
You will search for Him and you will find Him when you search
with all your heart.
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