Great Expectations

The creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.   Romans 8:21

God made humans a little lower than the angels and placed everything under their authority (see Psalm 8:5-6), but humanity was not able to maintain its position. We do not see everything subject to humanity as God intended. Our governance of this world has left the creation groaning, longing for deliverance and waiting for a change.

The whole creation is looking forward to the day when the children of God will be revealed. The Curse will be removed, and the created order will be placed under the care of people who reflect the image and likeness of God.

That’s why Jesus has come into the world. He is the image of God, and the whole creation finds its hope in him. He is bringing people to glory by sending his Spirit to lead his people into battle against sin. His purpose is that we become a people in whom God’s likeness and image can be increasingly seen.

On the last day, the work will be complete, and Jesus will stand before the Father and say, “Here I am, and here are the children you’ve given me.” He will be the first of many brothers who will all reflect God’s image and likeness.

Creation is waiting because when the children of God are revealed, the creation itself will be liberated! When God’s final purpose is fulfilled, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (see 2 Peter 3:13). All creation will rejoice when the Curse is removed, and even the trees “will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12).

Are you a child of God? I want you to notice that it is by faith in Christ that you become a child of God. It is Christ who will bring you into the family: “To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

If you’re a child of God, are you living like one? Does your life have the marks of an intentional assault on the sins in your life? That’s how God’s glory is seen in you. All creation is waiting for the day when that will be brought to completion.

For further reading, see Isaiah 55