A Burden for Souls

As I was walking through downtown Denver the other day the Lord began to burden my heart for this city.  I saw people of every race, from every culture and class busily making their way to wherever it is they were going.  It got me thinking...

In the 17th chapter of Acts, we find the Apostle Paul visiting the ancient city of Athens for the first time. Like any tourist, I’m sure he was ready to be very impressed by what he saw in this incredibly famous and historical city. But the more he saw of the city, the more he found himself becoming depressed by what he saw all around him.  

What did Paul see?  He saw a city that was completely given over to the worship of idols. Another historian visited Athens and wrote a 6 volume set on their religious beliefs. But Paul summed it all up in just four words: ‘wholly given to idolatry.’  The idea behind these words is that Paul saw a community that was literally swamped by idols.  It was indeed a very religious place.  One historian named Pasolineus passed through Athens and remarked, ‘There are almost more gods in this city then people.’  That was almost true.  There were more then thirty thousand gods in the city of Athens at this time.  The Greeks had deified just about everything they could think of. They had deified the forces of nature, they had deified the various emotions of man, they had deified various concepts.  They even erected an altar to the 'unknown god' just to cover their bases.  

So Paul saw the beauty of Athens, having the best that Greek sculptors and architects could offer. But Paul hadn’t come to Athens as a sight-seer but rather as a soul-winner. Consequently, when he arrived his heart was broken to see the city immersed in a cultural paganism of idolatry. 

It has been well said, 'When a bricklayer visits a city, he sees the bricks.  When a street cleaner visits a city, he sees the streets.  When a policeman visits a city, he sees the criminals.  When an architect visits a city, he sees the buildings.  When an environmentalist visits a city, he sees the pollution.  And when a man of the Gospel visits a city, he sees the souls of the people.'  That's what he saw.  It doesn't say that he went into Athens and was wowed by the marble and the gold.  It says he was provoked by the idols.

That brings me to my point.  Before you or I will be able to successfully reach our generation, we must first come to the realization that like Paul in Athens, you and I live in the midst of a culture that is 'wholly given over to idolatry.'  We may not call it that, but that's what it is.  Granted, we would probably never bow down in front of an idol made of gold or silver or stone.  We're much to sophisticated for that.  Our idols come with 4 wheel drive.  Their 52 inches and High definition.  The idols of our day are materialism and greed and position and power and sex.  The truth is, whatever is ultimate in your life is an idol.

My point is this, only after we have dealt with the idols in our own hearts and have become burdened by the gross idolatry we see all around us will we be able to effectively reach out to our culture.  Another way of putting that would be to say that we will not be able to effectively witness to our culture until we have wept for it.  Alexander Macklaren put it this way, ‘Show me the depth of a Christian mans compassion and I will show you the measure of his fruitfulness.’  

Like Paul in Athens, may God give us hearts that are stirred by what we see.  May He give us an unrelenting, unwavering, passionate burden for the souls of men and women!  Amen.

Daniel