When Paul went to Athens, he watched people carefully before he spoke to them. He noticed that the people in Athens who worshiped the many idols were “very religious” (Acts 17:22), and he had observed how they worshiped the “unknown god.” The Greeks were very much afraid of their gods—some even called them “fearers of the gods.” Paul knew that their fears had led them to build an extra altar among all the idols they knew so well so that they would avoid punishment for not worshiping this one particular god of whom they were ignorant.
This scene has been played again and again in our world today. Millions of people still worship the wrong way and are ignorant of the one true God who can save them. People like “Flower of the Forest” (“Flower” for short), a Buddhist in Asia.
Flower is persistently inquisitive about Jesus, but his zeal to know about Christ is muffled by his Buddhist beliefs. Many people in the Asian culture can worship an idol and not think of it as idolatry because to them, religion is a way of life—a way to something greater than themselves.
Like most Buddhists, Flower does not know much about the religion he is supposed to follow. Simply following is more important to him than knowing exactly what or why he believes something. However, once in a while, Flower will ask questions like, “Did Jesus ever kill an animal?” That may seem insignificant to us, but it is crucial to Buddhists because they are taught not to kill any creature—not an ant, a mosquito or even a fly!
Buddhists want to know whether or not Jesus ate animals, because this is an important issue in their life. In reality, Flower wants Jesus to confirm his Buddhist beliefs, when Jesus actually taught that man has permission to eat any food or meat (Mark 7:19 in its whole context).
Do you see the important difference between the idol-worshipers and Christians? One group has no self-revealer and the other does. A God who is not afraid to reveal His innermost desires is greater than one who wants to keep people in the dark.
Many groups of people grope along in the darkness, hoping, but not finding answers. Flower focuses on the outside of life—what to eat, what to wear and how to worship something he does not know. We, as Christians, focus on Christ—how He lived to serve others and died to give life.
So what is important for Flower to know? The answer is found in Acts 17:23-34—the same passage where Paul discovered the “unknown god.” Paul would have understood the needs of people like Flower, people who are worshiping things they do not fully understand. And Paul gave the answer to those who listened. He revealed God to the ignorant philosophers in Athens.
Flower, and many others in the world do not know this God who cleanses the unclean, who purifies the unholy and who makes the unrighteous, righteous. As people responded in Paul’s day, Flower also walked away from “the unknown God” still not knowing, still not accepting Christ in repentance and faith. Pray for Flower to have a relationship with the God who has revealed Himself in Christ. Pray also that we can know Him and we can tell the ones who do not know.
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