In Athens, where some of our missionaries serve, I climbed the steps of the Mars Hill. The Apostle Paul climbed the same steps when he brilliantly preached to the intelligentsia of Athens. There where Socrates, Plato and Aristotle had lived and taught, Paul observed their statues and quoted their poetry as he boldly proclaimed Christ. Some believed but most scoffed. When Paul left Athens he traveled to Corinth determined to preach Christ and his crucifixion.
Our world is not as different from ancient Greece as we might imagine. As we observe the rise of a new generation of atheists in our country and world, history repeats itself. Spending time with people who don’t believe in God, I observe that they seem to have scales on their eyes. One neighbor greets me with the words, “We are so lucky.” Conversations tell me he means more than the simple statement implies. For him, all of life is about chance. He looks at the hummingbirds and marvels at their evolution. I look at them and marvel at the Creator who first thought of birds. When I ask him which God he doesn’t believe in, he has no answer.
Aldous Huxley was honest enough to say, “I didn’t want to believe in God. If there were a God I would have to change the way I live.” He was right about that. Paul preached to the Greeks in Corinth and taught them the unsearchable riches of Christ. In the end, his teaching was not dependent on his own considerable knowledge, but on the power of the Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can open a person’s eyes. Of course, the recipient of the gospel has to be open to Jesus who is the Truth. But only God can change a life. We do not argue those who disagree with us into relationship with Jesus. But we might love them so that they wonder why we care for their souls.
I love the words from the old hymn, “All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down . . .” Paul goes on to say the person without the Spirit considers the gospel to be foolishness and cannot understand it. But if we will receive it, the Spirit will give us the mind of Christ. Like Paul, scales will fall from our eyes. Pray today that the Spirit will empower our living and our preaching so that others will come to believe.
