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Paul was not idle among the idols.
While waiting for Silas and Timothy, he did some serious prayer walking and spiritual mapping in Athens. Vexed as he was in a forest of idols, he didn’t call down fire. Nor did he hide away in a backpacker hostel. He went around the city, forcing his Christian eyes to scrutinise the idols and read their inscriptions (Acts 17:23).
Why would Paul, a monotheistic Jew, so thoroughly repulsed by idolatry subject himself to such a horrid ordeal?
Because God is involved in the unreached peoples, Paul gets involved.
Because he is a witness. He not only has a big heart. He also has a brain between his ears. He understands a thing or two about humanity, about non-Jewish peoples and about their religion too. He knows the heart of God in relation to all the peoples of the earth.
First of all, God is not Israel’s tribal deity. Just as He is at work in Israel and the Holy Land, He is forever and intricately involved in the history of all peoples, including the Athenians. Including the migrant workers of Singapore and the unreached peoples of Asia. From one man, says Paul, God made every ethnic group on earth and determined their times and borders (Acts 17:26).
Because God is involved in the unreached peoples, Paul gets involved. Do we?
Second, Paul knows that God has not left Himself without witness (Acts 14:17). Our God desperately wants to be found. Like Hansel and Gretel dropping bread crumbs in the forest, God leaves clues pointing to Himself in every religion, in every people, even in their poetry and on their artefacts (Acts 17:23, 28).
Find the clues that point to heaven. Proclaim Jesus.
Third, Paul understands that Jesus is the fulfilment of every religious quest. The deepest longing of every heart is satisfied in Jesus. The desperate search for well-being, meaning in life and hope in the face of death has its end in Christ alone.
So that’s why Paul scrutinises the idols of Athens. He is looking for clues that God has left behind. He finds one. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. (Acts 17:23)
Go, therefore! Follow God’s footprints into every community of Singapore, Asia and the world. Find the clues that point to heaven. Proclaim Jesus.
Fast and pray
- Are you idle among the idols? Is your heart deeply distressed by the sight, sound and smell of idolatry? What can we do? Start with prayer: deep, intimate beseeching-prayer-in-brokenness (Bishop Rennis Ponniah). Then do like Paul.
Go out and prayerwalk your community. Ask God to show you the clues He has left behind to open hearts and minds. Confess the Truth: Jesus is the fulfilment of every religious quest. Jesus satisfies the deepest longing of every heart. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Salvation is in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Declare: The simple Gospel on my lips is the power of God to set captives free from idolatry and sin. I am God’s chosen instrument to shine His light where there is darkness. Online and offline, I am anointed to publish Good News (Isaiah 52:7). And I will. Boldly, wisely and in love.
- Beyond religious expressions, how else does idolatry show up in Singapore?
Someone confessed: “The biggest idol is self. Myself. Once upon a time, I was a nobody. Suddenly, social media turns me into a star. The world is my parish and social media is my pulpit. Swooning fans prop me up with their endless likes, shares and retweets. I love the attention. I’m addicted. It drives me to constantly check the status. This sounds weird but I seriously want to know how I am being ‘worshipped’ and adored and admired through my social media kingdom.”
Pause and think: How real is this phenomenon? Are you part of the trend?
If so, turn to God in repentance. He does not condemn. He convicts. He forgives. Because He loves.
Pray especially for Millennials, the digital natives. They are most vulnerable.
- God is a people mover. He orchestrates the migration of peoples so that they will seek Him, reach for Him and find Him. Three in 10 of Singapore’s population are foreign nationals. They live, work and study here for a season. They are a vast mission field on our doorstep.
Pray that we will be impartial to all — regardless of their nationality, history, culture, race, language, religion and socio-economic status.
Pray especially for the blue-collar migrant workers, the unsung heroes of our economic progress. They work hard at building, cleaning and greening our city. They represent some of Asia’s mega unreached people groups.
Ask God to burden our hearts for their salvation and move us to seek their welfare. Look for God’s signature acts of grace among them. Follow His footprints into the harvest.
- On behalf of Singapore, speak life:
Lord, we welcome all foreigners into our city and churches, our hearts and homes. We bless them in Jesus’ name. Pour out favour and fruitfulness beyond measure on churches and ministries that are actively reaching out to them. For those who are passive, ignite a passion to do something.
Read the devotional from Day 19: Forest of Idols here.
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