Truth in a Secular City (acts 17:22-31)
n Acts 17, the apostle Paul stands in the heart of Athens, a city overflowing with ideas, philosophies, and objects of devotion. What strikes Paul most is not the brilliance of the culture, but its longing. Among the many altars, he finds one dedicated “to the unknown god.” Rather than mocking their searching, Paul names it. The Athenians are deeply religious, even if they don’t realize it. Their city is shaped by worship, by love and trust placed in something that promises meaning and life. Paul’s grief reveals an important truth for us today: even in a secular city, no one is neutral. We all worship something.
Paul goes on to describe the God they do not yet know. This God is not distant or dependent on human effort. He is the creator and sustainer of all life, the one in whom “we live and move and have our being.” Against the promise of secularism, that we can build a meaningful life through reason, progress, or self-optimization alone, Paul proclaims a God who is both sovereign and near. We are not self-made or self-sustained. Our lives, breath, and boundaries are gifts. This truth confronts our desire for control, but it also offers deep comfort. We are not responsible for holding everything together.
Paul recognizes that beneath Athens’ endless appetite for new ideas is a deeper hunger. The Athenians are searching, “feeling their way” toward God. That search is familiar to us. In our own city, we chase improvement, influence, health, success, and impact, hoping one more habit, insight, or strategy will finally deliver rest. Yet the good news Paul announces is not that we will eventually find what we’re looking for, but that God is already near, already at work, already offering himself to us. Our searching does not lead us to God so much as it reveals that God has been seeking us all along.
Finally, Paul speaks of judgment, a word that often sounds like bad news to modern ears. But here it is, hope. History is not heading toward endless optimization or personal achievement, but toward restoration and righteousness, overseen by Jesus himself. The risen Christ is both judge and savior, the one who exposes our false hopes and then bears their cost for us. This means we are free to stop performing, striving, and self-perfecting. In a secular city obsessed with control, disciples of Jesus learn to seek truth by resting in God’s control and trusting that his grace, not our effort, is what finally makes us whole.
Reflection Questions
Where do you notice the pull of secularism in your own life, especially the desire to optimize, control, or secure meaning apart from God?
Paul says God is “not far from each one of us.” What would it look like for you to live this week as if that were truly true?
How does the idea of Jesus as both judge and savior challenge or comfort you as you think about what it means to seek truth and follow him?
