Desire fuels our worship for many things. And while often we’re readily able to name the objects of our desire, many other times we’re haunted by an echo of a tune we’ve not yet heard. We might then find ourselves worshiping at the altar of an unknown God.
This was once the case in Athens, as Paul observed the city was full of many different idols, including an altar with the inscription: “To an Unknown God.” And Paul went on to tell them about the God they worshiped without knowing.
Like the Athenians, we too are driven to worship many things without fully realizing the true heart behind our desires.
For instance, we might understand our sexual desires are not reduced merely to a desire for sex per se. And we might rightly note that control, selfish pleasures, and even the desire to escape fuels much of our sexual vices. But these idols don’t tell the whole story and there remains an altar to the Unknown God in the midst of our desires whether we realize it or not.
However true our need to surrender our idols of control, selfishness, escapism, and the like, we must also consider what’s not being named. And perhaps what we don’t even know how to name. The Athenians were at least honest with themselves on this point.
Of course, we know the God the Athenians worshiped without knowing is the one true God. But even here, our unknown desires are pointing to the living God and not merely our static concepts about God. As such, we can still shortchange ourselves and miss the fullness of God when we reduce our desires to mere morality and sin management.
With our gaze fixed on God, it’s often best to allow the ache of unknown desires to remain. What attribute of God’s infinite glory is this particular desire gesturing toward? This allows God to expand our souls to receive more of him, rather than settling for our limited ideas about him.
In the end, those deep desires that are hard to even name are pointing to God himself. Remember this while allowing the unknown to remain, as God’s infinite glory is beyond our understanding.
