Acts 17:22-26

Great start to Paul’s sermonette. In Athens, they worshipped many “gods,” as represented by all the shrines throughout the city. Paul happened to notice one shrine with the inscription, “To an Unknown God.” What a great opener! It was as though he was saying, “I know you all are very religious, so let me tell you about this God that you don’t know yet.”

Idolatry is one of the big “no-nos” in the Ten Commandments. We are to worship God alone, and He cannot be confined to an image made by human hands. We, in fact, are stamped with His image, having been made in His image and likeness, so it is no wonder Paul was distressed by what he saw.

It is understandable that people want to build something to honor God. David wanted to build Him a temple, which led to an interesting exchange in 2 Samuel 7. God basically told David that He did not need a house because no human structure could contain Him, yet He would allow Solomon, David’s son, to build the Temple.

Consider what the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 66:1-2:

“This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that? Could you build me such a resting place? My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.”

Yet we also read throughout Scripture that memorials were set up as reminders of what God had done. I believe the lines become blurred when we begin worshipping the altar, the memorial, or the idol rather than the God it was meant to represent.

Consider Isaiah 44:10, 19-20 NLT:

“Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit?…The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?” The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?””
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Memorials are good, but they should never become objects of worship. They are meant to point us to God, not replace Him. Whether it is a cross around our neck, a church building, a cherished tradition, or any other sacred symbol, we must always remember that these things have value only because they direct our hearts to the living God. Worship the One they represent, not the object itself.

Food for thought…