“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” . . . that’s what Paul might have been thinking (well, not exactly . . . he hadn’t seen Wizard of Oz . . . but maybe something like that) as he walked through Athens. Say what you want about the Jews of that time, but one lesson they had learned from the past . . . one thing that had stuck after the Babylonian captivity, was “No Idols!” Israel had become an idol-free zone . . . at least the sort of idols made of gold and silver. And so, for this boy from Jerusalem, religiously trained in the elite courts of the Pharisees, for him to be walking around Athens and seeing it jam packed with idols, it was a enough to provoke the spirit within him (Acts 17:16). But, it also provided opportunity . . .

And so Paul engages the philosophers and “wise men” of the city as he talks to them of one of their objects of worship . . . in particular, the empty altar . . . the altar bearing the inscription, “To the unknown god.” And so, what they worshiped as unknown, this Paul would proclaim to them (17:23).

He is the God who made the world and everything in it . . . the Lord of heaven and earth . . . One who does not live in temples nor is served by humans as though He needed anything. Instead, He gives life to all mankind . . . and has done so ever since He determined to form the nations from one man at the dawn of creation. And His intent throughout the ages has always been “that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him” (17:24-27).

There has been set within the heart of men and women a spiritual GPS pre-programmed with God as “Home”. Solomon says that God has put eternity into the heart of man (Eccl. 3:11) . . . Paul would write to the Romans, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:19-20) God has designed man that man should seek God.

Oh, that we respond to the inner calling to seek God. Whether “sinner” or “saint” . . . whether still looking for the way, or having entered through the narrow gate and navigating our pilgrim path . . . that we might be seekers of God. Intent on knowing Him who has made Himself known.

And while, for a time, it was like groping in the dark, in these days He has clearly “marked the map.” Type in “God” on His “google maps” and you’ll get Jesus crying out, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Not only has the way been revealed, but “GPS assist” has been invoked as, while we are to seek Him, He has determined too “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). As we cry out to Him, He calls out to us (1Thess 2:12) . . . as we look for the path, the Shepherd gently calls to His sheep, “Follow me” (John 10:27) . . . as we determine to draw near to Him, He, in turn, draws near to us (James 4:8).

God has desired that all mankind should seek Him. And for those of us that have “made initial contact” . . . those who have believed in the Son, been forgiven of their sin, and have been adopted into His family . . . God’s purpose for us remains the same . . . “that they should seek God.” To seek first the kingdom of God (Matt 6:33) . . . to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1Tim. 6:11) . . . to count all things loss for the surpassing worthy of knowing Him (Php. 3:8) . . . to press on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Php. 3:14).

Oh, to be a seeker. To push the “Home” button on our internal GPS, put pedal to the metal, and run the race set before us!

So long Kansas . . .