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!
Acts 17:24 The Message
Hopefully, I have impressed upon you in these last few days the importance of your own investigation and not leaving it to other people’s opinion of Jesus Christ to begin to shape your own faith journey with Jesus.
Yesterday Paul convinced some people in Athens on who Jesus is starting firstly with creation (Past).
Today let us continue listening into that conversation as Paul starts his second reason which is Jesus is not only past but present.
He says this. God is real not just because of creation but because the living God has given you salvation also. He not only gives you physical things but also gives you spiritual gifts.
Paul reminds them of their own poets quote
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Acts 17:28
Read this paragraph slowly to understand who Jesus is and the reason I believe we should have a relationship with Jesus.
The God (Jesus) 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.
Jesus 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?
Paul is making it clear that this creator seeks to live with human beings, not in shrines. We can experience a living God for ourselves. Remember He (Jesus) is not far from us. Jesus is past, yes, but also present.
Remember:
- We believe what we are told. Just like me as a child.
- We believe what we can see for ourselves on the basis of clear evidence.
- We believe as a result of strong feelings within ourselves, emotionally rather than rationally.
Your Christian beliefs, or not, arise in all of these three ways. Today you can know Jesus for 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! I hope you find Jesus as a Reason to Believe
Stay Safe and Blessed