How God Works Through History - His Story

My son, Miles, and I will be visiting Greece, Israel and Jordan in late August and early September. We will see the Acropolis in Athens, the location of Paul's encounter on Mars Hill in the Book of Acts. That is where Paul explained to the Athenian leaders about the Unknown God to whom they had constructed an altar. In describing the Unknown God, Paul mentions that "in Him we live and move and have our being." That expression came from a Greek philosopher, Epimenides, who is also the man who introduced the concept of the Unknown God to the Athenians.

Epimenides was a Creten poet and philosopher who visited Athens 600 years before Paul. Paul also quotes him in his letter to Titus, an elder in the church on Crete. (See the first chapter of Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson and see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/190020/Epimenides). Thus, we see that 600 years before Paul that God was already preparing the people for the knowledge of the One True God. Paul kept his eyes open and was attuned to the way God was writing the story of history - His Story (a phrase used by Sam Ericsson of Advocates International, who signs everything, "Living in His Story").

In considering the Meta-narrative – the big picture/story – of what God is doing in history, I came across this story last week about the Christian churches in the province of Nineveh (part of Iraq), and I thought about Jonah and his ancient connection to this story. By Jonah’s obedience to carry the message of repentance to the people of Ninevah, he preserved the people of that region (Assyrians) for receiving the Messiah 700-800 years later. Those early Assyrian (and Chaldean - descendents of the Babylonians whose King Nebechudnezzar embraced the One True God) Christians have persevered there in Nineveh and the enemy is still trying to eliminate them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/13/AR2009071302043_pf.html

Thus, God’s plan for the people of Nineveh at the time of Jonah has transcended thousands of years right up to the present. Could Jonah have imagined that you can now view a website, www.nineveh.com, which is for Assyrian Christians?

Aren’t you amazed at the way God works out His Story? Are you looking for the plan of God unfolding around you? Do you see His hand and His amazing work?