A Small Place in God’s Great Story
Last month, Iris and I visited Athens and Ancient Corinth while spending time with a long-time friend who lives in Greece. It was a wonderful journey through history, culture, and faith. Standing on the very ground where the Apostle Paul once walked, preached, and debated made the stories in the Bible come alive in a new way. It reminded me that our faith is rooted not in abstract ideas, but in the lives of people who dared to follow God’s calling.
One of the highlights was visiting Areopagus Hill in Athens, overlooking the magnificent Acropolis and its ancient temples dedicated to the Greek gods. I could almost imagine Paul standing there nearly two thousand years ago, surrounded by people who worshipped different gods and devoted themselves to the philosophies of their time. Acts 17:16–34 tells us that Paul was deeply distressed by the city’s idolatry, yet he did not retreat in fear or respond with contempt. Instead, he engaged the Athenians in conversation, drawing upon their culture and even their altar “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD” to introduce them to the God who created the world and raised Jesus from the dead.
As it happened, I later discovered an interesting coincidence. Just a couple of days before our visit, Marco Rubio had delivered an international speech on a nearby hill. Iris and I had been waiting for sunset at the very spot where he had stood, without knowing it at the time! This coincidence prompted me to reflect on the enduring influence of ancient Greek civilization on Western thought and the development of Christianity. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the common language of much of the eastern Roman world, helping the message of Jesus cross cultural and linguistic boundaries. Standing there, I could almost imagine Paul engaging Greek philosophers in their own intellectual world, proclaiming a Gospel meant not for one people alone, but for all who would come to know Christ.
What courage and passion Paul must have possessed! Throughout his three missionary journeys, he faced opposition, rejection, imprisonment, and physical suffering. Yet he persevered because he believed the Gospel was meant for all people. We honour him as the Apostle to the Gentiles because he tirelessly proclaimed that God’s grace was not confined to one nation or ethnicity. Through Christ, the dividing walls between Jews and Gentiles were being broken down. We are justified by grace through faith, not by our ability to fulfil the requirements of the law. In Christ, we are welcomed into one family, equally loved by God.
Sometimes I wonder what Christianity might look like if Paul had never written his letters to the early churches, many of which became part of our Holy Scripture. His epistles helped shape our understanding of grace, faith, Christian freedom, and unity in the Church. Without his extraordinary ministry, the spread of Christianity among the Gentiles might have taken a very different course. His faithfulness reminds us that God can work through one person’s obedience to accomplish far more than that person could ever imagine.
Standing on Areopagus Hill also challenged me to reflect on our own time. We live amid competing philosophies, secular values, spiritualities, religions, and beliefs. Like the Athenians, we encounter ideas that promise wisdom, fulfilment, and truth. We often assume that modern people are wiser, more enlightened, and more open-minded than those who lived in the past. But is that really true? The more history I learn, the more I wonder whether humanity has changed as much as we think. Our arrogance, prejudices, divisions, and desire to place ourselves at the centre of everything seem to repeat themselves throughout the centuries. Perhaps history reminds us not only of how much humanity has advanced, but also of how much we still need God’s wisdom and grace.
Our visit to Ancient Corinth offered another fascinating glimpse into Paul’s world. Corinth was a thriving Roman commercial centre where people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds met and traded. It reminded me of Toronto, where people of different ethnicities, languages, and traditions live alongside one another, often using English as our common language. Yet diversity does not automatically bring unity. Paul’s letters reveal a Corinthian church struggling with divisions, pride, and misunderstandings—challenges that remain familiar to churches today.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul reminds the church of the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, while 1 Corinthians 13 gives us one of Scripture’s most beautiful teachings on love. These passages continue to shape our worship and Christian life. We gather at Christ’s table not because we are perfect or agree on everything, but because we belong to the One who gave himself for us. Whatever gifts, knowledge, or achievements we possess, without love, we are nothing.
As I stood among the ancient ruins, I felt both amazed and very small. Empires have risen and fallen, temples have crumbled, and generations have come and gone. Yet God’s purposes continue to unfold through ordinary people who faithfully answer His call. I was reminded that my own ministry, and the life of Graceview Presbyterian Church, are only small chapters in God’s much greater story.
We may never preach before philosophers on Areopagus Hill or write letters that shape the Church for centuries. But we can bear witness to Christ where God has placed us—in our families, workplaces, neighbourhoods, and congregation. May we have Paul’s courage to speak the truth, his humility to engage those who think differently, and his conviction that God’s grace is for all people.
Above all, may we remember that we are small, but never insignificant in the hands of our Almighty God. The God who called Paul across the ancient world is still at work among us today, inviting us to live in faith, serve in love, and share the good news of Jesus Christ with a world that continues to search for truth.
“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 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 17:30-31
Walking with you in faith,
Pastor Eric