Restoration

Restoration; the process of putting something such as a piece of art or a building back into its original condition so that it looks cleaner and better; re-establishment, reinstatement, return, restitution. Is there any other word in the English language that soothes as much as the calming, cool, healing waters waiting within the vowels and constantans of this word restoration? 

When woodlands are reduced to ash in a catastrophic wild fire it takes time for the landscape to heal. However, given enough time, water, wind, sun and rain a dramatic change occurs as new life begins to sprout and rise out of the ashes. When God created the first man and gave him free will to make choices He already knew what choices he would make. Setting the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden was not an accident. God has a plan and it was always to restore what was lost when the first man and woman chose to disobey God. While the curse might have sowed seeds of thorns and thistles into the four winds, God’s own Son paid for our debt in full.

God had always planned to restore people back to their original condition before sin entered the world. Even before the foundations of the earth were formed He had a plan to send His own Son into the world to redeem it. The cross was not a tragedy but God’s ultimate accomplishment, as the curse of sin was broken forever. The debt was paid in full as God’s own son’s blood became our restoration, redeeming us forever. Death would no longer sting or be an impassable wall but rather it has become the sinner’s most cherished, blessed of all hopes, keeping the faithful on their knees.

Grab your bibles and turn to 2 Samuel chapter 9. God inspired the writers to leave behind a beautiful picture of restoration for us to read and enjoy in the story of King David and Mephibosheth. Saul and his three sons were killed by the Philistines and then brutally impaled to the city wall at Beth Shan. Mephibosheth’s father Jonathan and David were kindred spirits motivating David to show kindness to the house of Saul for Jonathan’s sake.

David inquires and discovers that there is a remnant of Saul’s house that is still alive, Jonathon’s son Mephibosheth.  Mephibosheth is lame in both of his feet and his family’s inheritance has been confiscated. Dependent upon relatives for his daily needs David restores all of Saul’s land back to Mephibosheth and orders that Saul’s servants work the land for him and keep it in good order. 

David then invites Mephibosheth to eat at his own table for the remainder of his life! “As for Mephibosheth, ‘said the king’, he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons” David was a passionate man who loved God and desired to show other’s  the same goodness that the Lord of Hosts has showered down on him.

This beautiful story of David seeking out Mephibosheth and lovingly restoring his father’s inheritance is a clear picture of what God has accomplished for us. Though we have been defeated by sin and our inheritance given to Satan, our Creator relentlessly searches us out.  We are wounded, lame and left for dead with no hope for redemption within our own strength.  We try and disappear into the social fabric hoping no one will come looking for us when God comes along searching for that one little lost lamb. When He finds us, He picks us up off our broken legs and carries us on His shoulders where He sets us down at His own table, encouraging us to eat the bread that He broke for us and drink from the cup of His might. The Good Shepherd then restores our inheritance and invites us to dine with Him forever. 

God has chosen all of us to be partakers in His grace and mercy by inviting us all to come to Him! By giving His One and only Son, God created the only way by which a man can be saved. From His own lips while hanging from a cross, Jesus said “It is finished” and immediately the sting of death was taken away forever. Meanwhile the curtain in the temple, that separated us from His presence, was ripped apart, torn down from the top to the bottom. 

Purchased with a price, the bride of Christ now awaits and prepares for the groom’s return. Let us not be caught off guard but eagerly awaiting Christ’s return. We have drunk from the cup which is a binding covenant in His blood and now are looking forward to our inheritance which is eternal life in the presence of an awesome King!