Find The Connection

Acts 17:16-34

One of your altars had this inscription on it: “To an Unknown God.” This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. (Acts 17:23)

MISSIONARY DON RICHARDSON was perplexed in his attempts to share the gospel with the remote Sawi people of Indonesia. They considered Judas the conniving hero of the gospel story and Jesus the fool who was duped by him. But when Richardson realized that rival villages sometimes settled their hostilities with a ceremony in which families exchanged a child with their enemies—a “peace child”—he saw an immediate connection with God’s sacrifice of his Son. This “redemptive analogy” became the key to connecting gospel truth with Sawi culture.

Likewise, Paul connected with the local culture in Athens by building his sermon around the statue dedicated “to an Unknown God,” which became a launching point toward the God of Israel. Instead of criticizing the idolatrous culture that had grieved him days before, he made an effort to find something in common with it and begin conversations based on that point. His desire to make his message understandable was greater than his desire to establish differences.

The lesson we learn from Paul and other missionaries about building bridges applies not only to other cultures. It shows us how to relate to the culture we live in. We may see all sorts of differences between our own beliefs and lifestyles compared to those of others, but God hasn’t sent his followers out on a mission of establishing differences. We are to live distinctively, of course, but we are also to create links—to relate to others through whatever commonalities we can find. Our ability to share our lives, as well as to learn from those around us, depends on our willingness to connect.

Instead of criticizing others’ faiths and perspectives for how wrong they are, look for ways they might be right. Then build on those connecting points. You will be enriched by the experience, becoming more knowledgeable about other views and more fruitful in your efforts to share your own. And better yet, you will build bridges that God can use to reveal his truth.

{Jesus, you clothed yourself in flesh to make the Father known in ways we could understand. Open my eyes to opportunities to express your truth too. May I find connections to your Word everywhere I look and know how to share them well. Amen.