In limestone regions, we
find “Karst features”, such as cracks, crevices, and caves.
At first you might see a
brook in the landscape, but suddenly it seems to disappear: the water continues
its current underground.
So, for quite a while it is
invisible at the surface; to find it you must dig deep. And then, suddenly it gushes forth from the
rocks as a stream.
This is how I see the
Noah-Covenant. Throughout the Old Testament you catch glimpse of it, yet only
at the day of Pentecost it suddenly gushes forth with power!
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The Message on the Areopagus
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said:
“People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked
carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this
inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very
thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord
of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands,
as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and
everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations,
that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed
times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God
did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find
him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live
and move and have our being.’[b] As
some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c] 29 “Therefore since we are God’s
offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or
stone—an image made by human design and skill.30 In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all
people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will
judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has
given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17
Paul’s speech in
Athens is of great significance as it shows us that God here (finally)
addresses all of humanity again. “Now” he calls people everywhere to begin a
new life with him. In this missionary event, Paul points back to the
Noah-covenant: God is Creator, Provider and Sustainer, and –in a sense- Savior
(saved through the Great Flood) of all nations! And Paul realizes the ultimate
purpose of the Old Covenant: to bring glory to Himself by restoring His Kingdom
through the blessings of Abraham’s Son.
I paraphrase: ‘Men of
Athens, you do not really know this God, yet He is your Father! He is not just
‘a foreign god’, so you cannot ignore Him. In fact, He is the one who has given
to you: life and all his good provisions.
The challenge is: “Now you know this, how will you respond?”
If he was your earthly
father, you would know the answer! Therefore, you are to seek Him and live in
relationship with Him. His gracious (!) gifts imply that you are under
obligation to thank Him, serve Him, and count on Him for all your needs.
Churches usually focus
on the last verses of Matthew’s gospel as key passage for the last stage in
covenant history; the phase in which the earth is reconquered with the Word and
the Spirit in submission to the only rightful King. My teacher in missiology
used Luke 4: 16-21 as key passage, where Jesus proclaimed the Gospel in his
home church. For me, Acts 17 became the primary passage for world-wide
missions. Just like Paul, we are to tell all people that they are no irrational
beasts, for they were lovingly created in the image of their Heavenly Father.
He is the One who gave them life; he is the One who cared for them all along.
He is not abstract, foreign, or irrelevant for them. Since He is also their
Good Father, they ought to seek Him. And when they get to know Him, they will
also discover their own identity and begin to understand why they are on earth.
In other, words: Knowing God is the key to true wisdom, where we discover: who
we are, where we are from, and where we are going.
Gift and Obligation for Every Human Being
Forty years ago, I went by myself on a train trip to Norway. I wanted to
see mountains, and Norway seemed a fascinating country. So, I bought a
backpack, a small tent, and a train ticket. In Osol’s youth hostel I met a
French guy, Niels, who also was traveling by himself. His next stop was a
Valldal, a small town at a big fiord. So, after the weekend I joined him on the
train and then a bus across the mountains.
After our arrival, we settled in the town’s ‘ungdomsherberge’. Next, we
went for a walk along the fiord to the town Linge, where Niels wanted to visit
some of his parents’ friends. We found the place, and to our surprise we were
treated to a rich and delicious ‘coffee-supper’. On the way back, Niels felt
terrible that he had not really thanked the folks for their fabulous
hospitality.
The next evening, we cooked the meal in the kitchen of our youth hostel.
As we were about to start eating, I suggested we thank the Lord for the food.
Niels replied he would not do this, for he was not a Christian. I expressed
surprise. “That does not matter, Niels! God has blessed us with this food, so
we ought to thank Him for it. Last night you felt bad that you failed to do so
for your friends, so we ought not to repeat this mistake today!” At that very
moment a backdoor to the kitchen opened and an older woman walked in, muttering
in Dutch, “Hm. Interesting to hear a Dutch guy trying to convert a Frenchman!”
Most likely I felt
embarrassed then, but in essence I was right. Why should we talk to strangers
as if there is no God? Everyone should know the (their!) Heavenly Father so
they may seek Him, and then find and follow Him. To know Him is to love Him,
and I do! (Amy Winehouse) So, why should I be silent about it? I will share one
more story.
It was shortly after ‘nine-eleven’, and the newspaper headlines had
screamed in the biggest font: “EVIL!” So, when I went for another visit to our
agnostic neighbor, I challenged him, “What is ‘evil’?” After a pause, he
replied, “Good question.” I suggested we might agree on “the opposite of
‘good’.” He thought that was reasonable, so I continued, “When is something
good? Do we not call something ‘good’ when it functions properly according to
the purpose for what it was designed?” Victor agreed.
So, the remaining challenge is to discover Who made us, for what
purpose. If the Bible is the self-revelation of our Creator-God, we ought to
search for the answers in it.
Years later, when
Victor was stripped of all his decency and pride, I told him the story of the
prodigal son. Because of the missionary outworking of the Noah-covenant, I may share
this story with anyone. They are not the random products of evolutionary
processes; they are created by their father-God, and in some sense, they still
bear his image. He has provided for them in so many ways, and He wants them to
come home into the embrace of their Good Father!
This is
covenant-language, even though the church of my youth did not see it this way. They
would reserve it for the children in the church, who had already received the
greater blessings. If we want to do justice to all Scripture, however, we
should think in terms of multiple layers. There are some who have received greater
blessings. Indeed, and their responsibility and obligations increase
accordingly.
Furthermore, we should
mention the fact that in covenant-history from Old to New Testament, we find
elements of continuity as well as discontinuity. We will say more about that in
another post.
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