Tag: religiosity

I see that you are extremely religious in every respect…you worship in ignorance…(Acts 17:22-23)

I was thinking about those words today. The Atheniens were very religious, but worshiped in ignorance. Their concept of God was so far from the truth, that Paul felt compelled to correct them.

The Samaritans had a similar problem. Jesus said of them,

You Samaritans worship what you do not know. (John 4:22)

Of course there are many people today who have a wrong view of God. But is there a sense in which we Christians also worship in ignorance?

Put another way, “What gaps still exist in our understanding of God? And how much have our experiences colored our perception of God?”

Many of us know in our heads, for example, that God is our Father.

But how much is that image distorted in our minds because of our own relationships with our earthly fathers?

Or we say that God is a good king. But how much do we struggle with that concept because we’ve seen leaders inside and outside the church abuse their power?

I think I have a pretty healthy image of God. But I have to wonder, are there still some gaps in there?

Gaps that sometimes make me hesitate to obey him?

Gaps that sometimes make me hesitant to trust him?

Gaps that make me seek the praise of others because I fail to see how God sees me?

I see all these issues in my life. Could it be because there is still a sense in which I’m worshiping in ignorance?

So this is my prayer today:

Father, help me to truly know you more. Fill in those gaps, so that I can see you as you truly are.