Acts 17:21
Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.
Read Acts 17:26-34 for more context.
The birthplace of democracy,
Socrates, and Plato; Athens was a hub for higher education. Boasting a population of only 20,000 to
25,000, Athens was a culturally rich, aesthetically impressive, and world-shaping
university town.
Petronius, a pagan Roman writer, said
of Athens that, “It was easier to find a god than a man there.” Has much changed? The same fire that built in Paul’s heart as
he walked the streets of Athens, burns in our hearts today. The next generation is starving for the
greatness of God.
It’s not rocket science; tomorrow’s
citizens, values, media, leaders, and world are being shaped in college towns
across America. Yet, tragically less
than 4% of Generation Y (those born after 1980) participate in church
activities on a weekly basis (1). I
wish I could personally refute that statistic, but this is confirmed by what we
see at ISU. Combine these two facts and the future seems dim, yet the call of
the hour seems clear.
"From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” [Acts 17:26-27]
Thank You Jesus, though I was once blind in my sin and
didn’t know what I longed for. You
pursued me with patient grace, and awakened me to new life in Christ. As I orient all that I am around your heart, set
my gaze toward the next generation and put me to use. Amen.
(1) Article by Doug Paul and Jo
Saxton, Mobilizing the Missing Generation
