It is said that in ancient Greece a plague once swept through Athens. To pacify the gods they supposed were responsible, altars were erected to every god known to the Greeks. Yet the scourge continued. Finally in desperation, another altar was built bearing these words:

To the Unknown God

Soon afterward, the plague subsided.

Many years later, when Paul visited Athens on his second missionary journey, he walked about the city and saw that inscription. Seizing the opportunity, he proclaimed to his listeners, “The One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.” That one God, of whom they knew nothing, Paul knew personally. He presented Him as the “Lord of heaven and earth” (Acts 17:24). But the apostle didn’t stop there. He also called for repentance, for the world would someday be judged in righteousness by Jesus Christ.

We don’t need to go through life searching for an unknown god, for the one true God has already revealed Himself to us through His Son. The moment we turn from our sin and accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we come to know the Creator Himself.

Do you know Him, or is He still unknown to you?

  — Dennis J. De Haan