Tag: Knowing God

Of Sparrows, Swallows, and Altars

Group of Sparrows by Jimmy Palma Gil
Of Sparrows, Swallows and Altars

 “Yea the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they who dwell in thy house: they will still be praising thee. Selah. ”  Psalm 84:3

Endowed with the gift of flight, birds have such freedom of motion that they are capable of traversing thousands of miles across continents, soaring to the heights of the skies, plunging to the lowest depths of earth’s dry places.  These creatures possess the rare liberty of pushing the limits of height, depth and distance.

In much the same way, on a grander scale, mankind is gifted with these capabilities.  But inherent in this sense of latitude is a kind of restlessness and constant movement, of migrations prompted by the search for food and shelter and climates of well-being,  a sense of fear of things and circumstances beyond one’s control.

King David likens his soul to the restless, homeless creatures of flight that have finally found a dwelling place in God’s house. He declares that those who find their rest in God are blessed, whose hearts are full of praise.  And that happiness stems from knowing God.

In this psalm, there is a designated place for approaching and knowing God — “even thine altars”, referring to the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense in the Old Testament. 

There is a new and living way to know and find God, to come to the altars that God Himself has appointed: the shed blood of His own Son Jesus Christ upon Calvary’s cross for the remission of our sins and shortcomings.  The Great High Priest of the Altar of Incense is the Person of Jesus Christ Himself, who is the pathway  to our Heavenly Father.

As the sparrow found a house, and the swallow, a nest to lay her young, it is at the altars, it is in and through Jesus Christ that our souls find true happiness, rest, and fulfillment of purpose in this life and beyond.

D. G. Vachal ©2013

*** Photography by Jimmy Palma Gil

Philosophers, Temples and the “Unknown God”

“…the world through wisdom did not know God…” I Corinthians 1:21

Epicurean and Stoic philosophers brought Paul to Areopagus so he can expound on this “new doctrine” that he was preaching to the people of Athens. Along the way, Paul’s spirit was provoked within him when he saw the city teeming with temples, where people were worshipping idols.

From his observations of the city, Paul found a springboard from which to launch the Gospel Message:  “Men of Athens, I perceive in all things that you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”.  Acts 17:22-23. Paul explained to the people that this Unknown God was in reality the eternal and true God.

“The Unknown God” was the God the Greeks could not quite comprehend.  There were many other gods to worship: Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Poseidon, to name a few,  yet  these gods were not sufficient for them.  There was this Other Being that needed to be worshipped, but they could not fathom or characterize this “Unknown God” the way they conceived the other gods.

Here was the paradox of it all.  Athens, the great seat of learning, where minds were directed and trained by reason and logic.  Athens, the mother of Socrates and Plato and Aristotle and a host of other magnificent minds, the birthing place of diverse philosophies where reason and logic were to reign supreme, was teeming with temples and idols.

Philosophy failed.  It only brought the Greeks to the place where they felt there was still an emptiness,  something lacking that cannot be explained by past nor prevailing philosophies:  there was this “Unknown God” that they felt they needed to worship. But who is this Being, and what is His nature?

The world through its wisdom cannot know God.

The mind of man is inadequate to know God.  As John Stott remarks, “Man is an insatiably inquisitive creature. His mind is so made that it cannot rest. It is always prying into the unknown. He pursues knowledge with restless energy. When man’s mind begins to concern itself with God, however, it is baffled. It gropes in the dark.”

This is not surprising, according to Stott, because God is infinite, while we are finite creatures. But God took the first step to reveal Himself to us.   Stott portrays the first four words of the Bible, “In the beginning God”, as a key to understanding the Bible as a whole: everything starts with God;  God  takes the first step.

God in His infinite love took the initiative of creation, of bringing forth light out of the darkness: “Let there be light” Genesis 1:3. He took the initiative of revelation, by revealing His Word through the prophets, and ultimately, through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.  Finally He took the initiative of providing a way of salvation through Jesus Christ, to free us from our sins and to give us everlasting life.  (John Stott, Basic Christianity pp. 11-12)

What is this everlasting life?  In the words of Jesus, it is to know God:  “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. ” John 17:3

It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can know the only true God, to enter into a loving relationship with Him, to know Him as our very own Father.

*** photo: Temple of Poseidon by Chris Kotsiopoulus