At the beginning of the year the future can look bright, but it can also feel scary. There are so many unknowns.
The ancient Greeks had a way of dealing with that—they hoped to keep bad things from happening by placating every single one of the many gods they believed ruled human life. Each god got his or her own temple—and in case they accidentally missed one, they built an extra temple to “the unknown god.” When the Apostle Paul saw this temple, he decided to help them out. He announced: “Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you” (Acts 17:23).
The God Paul described to the people of Athens was neither one of many nor unknowable. Paul explained what the Bible teaches: There is only one God, and He is the only cause and creator. Paul assured the Athenians that they had no need to fear the unknown because God cares for all of us, His precious children. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; . . . For we are also his offspring,” Paul said (Acts 17:28).
