Groping for grace

" From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’;" Acts 17: 26-28

In the passage of scripture above, Paul is speaking with the people in Athens. Paul has approached the subject of God by appealing to the Athenians recognition of an unknown god and their propensity to seek knowledge. Paul does not present his personal testimony, but he presents an observable testimony of God through human behavior.

Paul points out to the Athenians that it is the nature of men to search for God because God made us that way. We were made to seek and find God--to grope for Him in a way that no other creature on earth can do. Groping is a good word to use because our relationship with God is a constant struggle. Without the struggle, then we would become complacent and ignore God entirely. Praise God that in His wisdom, love and grace, He planned for and encompasses our struggle to know Him.