So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 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. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Acts 17: 22-25

On Monday evening, Patrina and I hiked around our first national monument, Devil’s Tower, in eastern Wyoming. As we approached the trail, we couldn’t help but notice the colorful ribbons or prayer bundles placed there by Native American tribes. One legend indicates that the people prayed to the Creator when a giant bear was attacking them and the tower raised up out of the ground in an answer to prayer. Many tribes considered the spot as holy.

As I thought about those prayer cloths, my mind landed on the passage above when Paul was invited to speak at the Areopagus in Athens. Notice how Paul connected with the people he was trying to reach. Instead of telling the Greeks about their idols and false gods, he used their own faith including the “unknown god” as a jumping off point to point them toward the one true God and ultimately to Jesus Christ. Paul connected the dots between what the Greeks believed and directed them to the truth found in the Gospel.

He even used their own culture to drive home his point –

Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Acts 17: 27b-28

Paul had the courage to speak when the opportunity presented itself. He was focused and intentional about reaching others for Christ. How many opportunities do we have to do the same?