Ecclesiastes 3:11 Also He has put eternity in their hearts.
As Paul stood on Mar’s Hill before the Aregopagus (Athens Supreme Court), he used their monument TO THE UNKNOWN GOD as an opening to tell them about Jesus. 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. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you. (Acts 17:23) The truth is, they were worshiping God, but they didn’t know who He was.
All human beings know in their heart that God is real. This knowing is placed in the heart of every human being by God Himself. Also He has put eternity in their hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Because of this, all people, everywhere, seek to know God. We find native people of tribes in Africa who have never seen other people, worshiping gods. The Native Americans who were never exposed to any other people worshiped the god they called The Great Spirit.
On a personal note, I can remember the day I knew God was real. I was about 5 years old. I had never heard about God or Jesus from anyone because I was not raised in a Christian home. However, one morning, I was outside in our backyard where my grandmother had planted a vegetable garden. I was just out there all by myself in the garden when an overwhelming feeling came over me that God was with me. I didn’t know Who God was or anything about Him but in that instant, I knew He was real and He loved me.
I am reminded of that morning every time I hear the song In The Garden. I come to the Garden alone while the dew is still on the roses. And the Voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as I tarry there, none other has ever known.
He speaks and the sound of His Voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing. And the melody that He gave to me, within my heart is ringing. And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as I tarry there, none other has ever known.
I’d stay in the garden with Him though the night around me be falling. But He bids me go, through the Voice of woe, His Voice to me is calling. And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, one other has ever known.
Although I don’t remember the exact day, I do remember the exact place and the feeling I had as a five-year-old little girl all alone in the garden. Actually, I was not alone. God was with me. I didn’t know His Name or any more about Him but I knew He was real. At that time in my life, He was an unknown God just like the people in Athens.
It wasn’t long after that that my mother started sending me and my brothers and sisters to Sunday School on the church bus. She did it to get rid of us on Sunday mornings but I loved it. It was there that I learned the Name of this Person Who came to me in the garden that morning. His Name is Jesus and yes, He loves me.
The Name of Jesus will……….turn the tide……….in this world!
Oh how I love Jesus! Doreen
P.S. I still love to spend my mornings outside in the garden with Him.
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