CREDIT: PxHere.com
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Some old things are worth trying to restore – houses, cars, artworks, old family photos come to mind. With careful planning and expertise, something that looks ready for the junk pile can be restored to what it was intended to be. But doing so takes vision to see what it could become … along with the pathway to get there. Once you set your mind to it, after a period, the restoration is complete.
God is in the restoration business – the restoration of His creation which became broken by the work of others. Things didn’t start out broken though. In the beginning, He created everything exactly as He intended. There were no deserts – water existed to nourish plants in just the right amount. The beasts and animals, as well as mankind, honored Him. And there was no need for warriors and chariots because true peace abounded. And He said, “It is good.” But then, after a time, things fell apart when Adam and Eve thought they knew better than God how to take care of His creation. Sin entered and with it decay and death.
But God remembered how He created all things in the beginning. He longed to restore creation to its original condition. He reminds us of this through Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I am doing a new thing …” Like any restoration, this “new thing” takes time to complete. But God promises, “… I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert …” (Isaiah 43:19)
This restoration includes you and me too. God sent His Son, Jesus into the broken creation to restore it. God is patient. He is just. And so, it takes time to get it all the way He wants it to be. But He is “doing” it – even if we don’t necessarily perceive it. Let us trust Him and His plans. Let us trust Him to work through us too as He restores His creation – including us – to the way He intended. When He’ll say again, “It is good.”
In His Love,
Pastor Jim