Everyone has some explanation as to why things are the way they are, and they are very quick to share their beliefs. Some explain the world in simple terms, others are much more sophisticated. Regardless, there is something inside of all of us that compels us to find answers.

In Paul's day, Athens was the center of philosophy. Daily, philosophers of all kinds gathered to discuss and debate the latest ideas. When Paul arrived in Athens, he engaged these thinkers in a conversation about Jesus and the resurrection.

Needless to say, they were curious to hear more. They invited Paul to share his 'strange ideas' with them. Paul welcomed the opportunity, and as he stood in the middle of Mars Hill he said, "People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship. I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship - and this is what I am going to proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22, 23).

The explanation as to why things are the way they are is God. And this truth is made clear through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Apart from knowing God through faith in him, we are left to answer life's most important questions through our own understanding. And as Paul explained...

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:24-26).