There's a world out there that isn't waiting for believers who stay inside the church. It's waiting for the sons of God who go out, with what God has placed in their hands. Esther did it. Paul did it. What about you?
Esther, a woman influential in the world
Esther was a determined woman, a courageous woman, a woman who knew how to leave everything behind to go do what God was asking of her. She started with nothing. An immigrant. A slave. And she rose all the way to the king's court, to the most influential position one could hold. God entrusted her with a mandate: to save millions of Jews who were to be killed. Thanks to what God had placed in her heart, she set an entire people free.
Her quality, the one the world could see, was her beauty. The king saw her and was overwhelmed. Today, you may not have that particular quality. Neither do I. But we have other qualities. The ability to organize, to paint, to write, to speak, to give wisdom. These are the qualities that bring us to where God wants to place us, because the world, not knowing God, sees our qualities first.
What is yours? We all have one. And it's through these qualities that we can step out of the church and influence the world wherever God asks us to be.
Creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God
Today's main passage is Romans 8:19: "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God."
The text does not say that creation waits for believers to be revealed. No one cares whether you're a believer. Creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God. There's an identity, a power, a passion that come out of those words. We become influential when we know who we are and who our God is. It all starts with our identity, then with the qualities God has given us.
"Eagerly." Imagine: the whole earth eagerly longs for you, as a child of God, to be revealed.
The little "but" of Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses."
We know this verse by heart. But you have to look at the small word at the start: but. If there's a "but," it's because something came before it. Jesus has just told his disciples that he's leaving, that they must wait for the Comforter. And they answer: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Look at that human self-centeredness. The disciples are thinking only of themselves. "You're leaving, and what about us?" They want a kingdom, political peace in Israel, a kingdom where they'll be settled. We're often just like them. When a circumstance shakes us, we think first about what's going to happen to us.
So Jesus answers: "But you will receive power... and you will be my witnesses."
Moving from "me" to "witness"
The difference between "me" and the witness is immense. The witness no longer thinks about himself. He thinks only about passing on what he has received. The "me" wants to receive and keep for itself. The witness wants to give. The power of the Holy Spirit serves us precisely for this: to change the way we think. To move from "what about me?" to "what about others?" To think about our neighbor, the one next door.
Often we're frustrated in our lives, because we say, "What about me?" But the abundant life God wants for us comes when we start caring for others. As long as we stay focused on ourselves, frustration keeps rising. Jesus went away, but he left you the power of the Holy Spirit to face any situation, not so you would withdraw into yourself, but so you could be a witness.
Paul at Troas: when everything closes
Paul had a great conversion. He was set apart for his ministry. Then, at a certain point, he found himself completely lost.
He wanted to go to Galatia: the Holy Spirit stopped him. He wanted to go to Bithynia: the Spirit of Jesus did not allow it (Acts 16:6-10). He had just gone back to Jerusalem over the question of circumcising the Gentiles. He had also just parted ways with his friend Barnabas, after a dispute over Mark. He took Silas with him and found himself at Troas, a door closed on the right, a door closed on the left.
These are unsettling seasons. Seasons where our will is truly broken. But it's at Troas, in the confusion, that Paul receives a vision: a Macedonian calling out to him. When we accept being set apart to be witnesses, these seasons can come. They're hard, but they open the door God has prepared.
"Let me first...": the calling that costs
Remember the young man who comes to Jesus: "Lord, I want to follow you, but let me first go and bury my father" (Luke 9:57-62). His father wasn't dead. He might not die for another ten years. But if a son wasn't present at his father's death, he wouldn't receive the inheritance. This young man is really telling Jesus, "I want to follow you, but first I want my inheritance. Once I'm financially secure, I'll follow you."
How many of us are ready to leave something behind in order to step into God's calling and be witnesses?
Key takeaways
- Creation isn't waiting for comfortable believers; it's waiting for the sons of God to be revealed with what they've received.
- Your identity as a son comes first, then the qualities God has given you to reach the world.
- The "but" in Acts 1:8 corrects our self-centeredness: Jesus doesn't give power for you, he gives it to you so that you can be a witness.
- Frustration comes when you think about yourself; abundant life comes when you think about others.
- When every door closes, it doesn't mean God has forgotten you: he's bringing you to Troas to open the one he has prepared.
Personal application
- What quality has God given you to reach those who don't know him?
- In what circumstance these past months have you said "what about me?" instead of "what about others?"
- Is there a "let me first" that you're placing in front of God's calling (finances, security, personal project)?
- What closed doors are you facing right now, and are you ready to wait at Troas for the vision God is preparing?
- Concretely, who could you be a witness to this week, at your workplace or in your daily life?
Scriptures cited
FAQ
What does "creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God" mean?
According to Romans 8:19, all of creation eagerly longs to see God's children revealed for who they are. Not passive believers inside a building, but sons who go out with their identity and their gifts to influence the world.
How do I know what quality God has given me?
Look at what you do naturally well, what others recognize in you, what brings you into contact with people who don't know God. Organizing, writing, speaking, encouraging, passing on wisdom: all these qualities can become the door through which God places you where he's waiting for you.
Why does God sometimes close every door, as he did with Paul?
Acts 16 shows that Paul wanted to go to Galatia, then to Bithynia: twice the Spirit blocked him. It wasn't abandonment, it was a redirection toward Troas, where God gave him the vision of the Macedonian. When every door closes, it isn't the end: it's the place of the vision.
to take notes and ask questions.