One question from the disciples in Acts has always stuck with me. They asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” You can almost hear what they were really wondering: Is everything about to be made right? And if we’re honest, that question lives in us too. Look at our world—its injustice, its divisions, its brokenness—and we wonder: Can things ever truly be fixed? Can we build a society that really works? We all long for a world that works—a just, peaceful, well-run society. Humanity has tried. Systems have come and gone—pure communism, pure capitalism, social democracies and everything in between. Some say that if the planet’s wealth were to be shared more fairly, if those who have much, gave more generously, we could correct the imbalance we see around us. But then a harder question comes up: how much of our own resources, our own comforts, our own security, are we ready to surrender for the sake of others? Not many of us are ready for that kind of sacrifice. Are we? Are you? How much would you be prepared to share? Remarkably Jesus’ response always points us to God’s way.
Jesus didn’t answer his disciples in the way they expected. He said, “
It’s not for you to know the times set by my Father.” Then he shifted their focus completely: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.” Do you see what he’s doing? They were asking about a restored kingdom, and Jesus was pointing to a transformed people. Because the truth is this: the revolution of God had already begun. Right there, under the power of Rome—quietly, powerfully, irresistibly. And the disciples didn’t even realize it yet. The world they imagined—their very best version of human society—was still far below the Kingdom reality Christ was inviting them into.
We’re a lot like Jesus’ disciples: We desire a changed world, but struggle with, and resist personal change. We want peace, but avoid the path that leads to it. We seek comfort, but turn away from the cost of transformation. We hope things will just improve around us, without us having to change within. But that’s not how Jesus works.
But let’s hear this clearly: Jesus did not come to make us comfortable. He came to make us new. For in Christ’s vision, it is not the systems that change the world—it is people! Changed people! Spirit-filled people! People who are no longer are shaped by the world, but people who are transformed by the power of God. “Go,” he said. “Be my witnesses.” Not spectators. Witnesses. That means we become Christ’s hands and his feet in a broken world, walking through hardship, not around it. It means we learn to endure, to love, to serve—even when it costs us something.
Jesus prayed that we would become one, just as he and the Father are one. He prayed for our protection, knowing the world would oppose us just as it opposed him. And the apostles understood this deeply as seen in Peter’s words (I will paraphrase): [“
If we are still entangled in the ways of the world, we will have no strength to stand against it. But if we place ourselves under the mighty hand of God, we will stand firm.”] He even calls us to rejoice in suffering—because in those moments, we share in the life of Christ himself.
Now, that is a message the world cannot understand. Because the world teaches to build, to accumulate, to secure everything for ourselves. Yet all of it—every possession—will one day be left behind. So, the question becomes: Are we building what lasts beyond this world into eternity?
May we see things from a heavenly perspective, and move in sync with the Holy Spirit so we can reach true transformation. Amen.
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