WHO IS DOING THE SHAPING?

READING: ACTS 17:22-29

Verse 29: “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.”

This verse records what Paul said as he preached in Athens. For today’s culture, on the surface that verse does not seem to represent much of a challenge. We are not much inclined toward attempting to reduce God to images of gold, silver or stone. However we must admit that in our time there is a similar problem. There are still attempts to redefine the Divine Nature in ways that are different but every bit as serious and disturbing as those of former times. Instead of gold, silver or stone; people attempt to create images of God using their own concepts of a god that seem desirable to them. There is an old saying that applies. The saying is “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” The lasting reality that applies, whether it is past, present or future, is the Word of Truth that says “...in Him we live and move and have our being...” (Acts 17:28). Accordingly, we know that God shapes people, not the other way around. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What do you see as the most serious modern equivalent of worshipping false gods?

2. In what manner are you most sensitive to God’s shaping in your life?