Ok, I admit it. I am a bit of an old car buff. For me, it began as a boy on the farm, when my brother and I could play in the yard, amongst the old cars that were parked in the weeds. Even though they were full of dust, rust and cobwebs, and the interiors smelled of old mouse nests, I found them fascinating, and wondered what these cars must have been like, back when they were new!
When we got older, it was fun to pull one of them out of weeds, air up the tires and do whatever it took to get them running again. For some, it meant an engine overhaul, for others it was a new transmission. Although we never had the money to do a new paint job, we were successful in getting some of those inline sixes and flathead V-8’s to purr like kittens. I envied those who showed off their cars at the car shows, sporting all that chrome and perfect paint!
Restoration is long, slow and painstaking work, but the results can be amazing. For some, those rides looked better than when they rolled off the showroom floor!
Restoration is not limited to cars, houses and furniture. Lives, families, marriages and relationships can be restored as well. When I read the Scriptures, one of the most fascinating stories is found in the Old Testament, where God commands Cyrus, the King of Persia, with painstaking detail, to facilitate the restoration of the Temple of God in Jerusalem:
( Ezr 6:3-5) In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; (v4) With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house: (v5) And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.
What precise instruction! What attention to detail! What provision of resources! Yes, God is the Master of Restoration! When He finishes the work, it is better than it was at the beginning! In Jesus’ first miracle at Cana of Galilee, I believe He was making a point, and the Governor of the Feast figured it out when he said, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. “ (John 2:10)
I believe this is the very point Jesus wanted to make with this first miracle: “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. (John 2:11). I believe Jesus was setting the foundation of His Divine economy. It is not like the world’s economy, which continues to get worse as time progresses. Rather, if you are a child of God, the best is yet to come!
Have you once walked with God and strayed away? God can restore you! Is your marriage on the rocks? God can restore you! Is your family broken? God can restore you! And, it can, and will be better than it was at the first!
He is the Master of Restoration! Believe Him! Trust Him! Obey Him! Worship Him!
Pastor V