... that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; (Acts 17:27 NASB)So, one day, a Being decides to form matter into a universe, and place these cognizant creatures in it, hoping they would, with their cognizance, seek Him back. The barriers were huge. He was invisible to them, only His effects were perceptible. Few things deviated from the pattern inherent in the created system. But that pattern included full provision for the life and continuance of this cognizant creature.
One story of how this started included a time when there was face time between these cognizant ones and their Maker. But that was ruined by their rebellion as they listened to another and sought to take their Maker's place. It's an ancient story, and it seems to deviate from other "origin stories" in several places, like just two were made rather than lots. They weren't made to be slaves/servants of "gods" but rather there was friendship and companionship involved. It is truly a strange story, but it describes a good beginning for the problem faced by those cognizant creatures. The problems seem to continue to this day.
Essentially, the problem is that these cognizant ones are seeking to somehow understand the world in which they live. They perceive effects, clues, indicating that there is more beyond their world than what they see, but don't really understand that either.
Some have followed their own capacity for thought and stopped looking beyond their own senses. It's foolish, but they rely on the senses of themselves and others trusting that all that they need can be sensed. If it can't be sensed, there's no need of it.
Others have come up with all sorts of theories based on the effects they perceive which indicate that there is more than what can be sensed. Still they look no further than the effects themselves. They are satisfied with not knowing, like Aesop's fox, the grapes of knowledge is impossible and therefore probably sour. What theories they have, they hold loosely able to enjoy a cafeteria of various theories without having to either be consistent with or cohere to all the effects; they are satisfied with some (they choose which ones).
There are other options which have been chosen at various points in human history, but these seem to reign supreme today. They all put the cognizant ones in control. And in so doing, ignore the grandest effect of all. Control is an illusion. One of my favorite illustrations of this is gravity. I would think that at this stage in human research into physics, we would have mastered gravity. Why can't we recreate the effects? Why can't we somehow escape the physical effects? Seriously, what's the deal with that? Because the most important effect is that we are trapped on this planet among all the vastness of the universe. We can see it, but we can't touch it.
Paul's argument in Athens is based on the world in which the Athenians, and everyone else in the world, experienced every day. Philosophies based on the hopelessness of a world gone mad, totally out of control and lacking sense actually grope very close to the truth. They just stop short of it, and wallow in the hopelessness. Instead, Paul proposes that all this is "designed" by a Maker to cause His cognizant ones to seek Him. This Maker forms the cohesiveness necessary to make sense of "a world gone mad". But how do we find a Maker both invisible and existing outside of the created universe? This universe forms the "boundary" beyond which we cannot perceive. Obviously, He has to reach out to us.
Isn't it interesting that we, as human creatures, understand communication on an intimate level we describe as "reaching out"? We're not a "touchy feely" bunch normally, but we get that term. So, this Maker reaches out to us and overcomes the barriers. If the initial story is true, then many of these barriers were of our making rather than His. He overcomes them anyway. In doing so, this extra-sensory Maker defines love and life; two of the most powerful words in all human language.
Paul says that now this Maker has appointed a day in which He will judge the world He made through the One Man, Jesus. The proof of this is that He raised this One from the dead. While some in the Areopagus sneered, this resonated with others. They may not have understood fully, but there was something pulling them out of their acceptance of the way things were into something else, toward Someone else. They were beginning to discover the definition of love and life, and were about to experience both for the first time. I have experienced both, and I am still learning the definition from my Master. Have you?
