http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51:12&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+21:5&version=NASB
Last Friday I took my laptop in to a local computer company. My disk drive would no longer play CD’s or DVD’s. I would probably have just ignored this but occasionally I use my laptop to show a DVD though my laptop on a video projection unit. So I figured that I might as well get it repaired. How hard could this be? Why a highly-trained computer technician should be able to get into the appropriate screen and repair the broken link in no time. Oh, how I wish! It turns out that the simple solution of tweaking my computer didn’t work. Does it ever? So he had to take EVERYTHING off my computer. And reload it. This involved me giving him a couple of disks so that he could reload some of my programs. Since he was a well-trained tech he had access to everything that he needed in order to restore my computer. So he kept it the entire weekend (have you tried making it even a day without your computer!) and I picked it up on Monday. The CD/DVD drive was working. The computer was running fast. (One advantage of a restore.) But when I got back to my office I spent about 4 hours getting my printers to work, settings restored and trying to remember all my Favorites for the Internet. It was just like getting a brand new computer. Oh how I hate the first few days when that happens.
Now sometimes when your computer starts to act up you can fix it yourself by doing a partial restore. When you do this it takes your computer back to an earlier point in time. Before the problem developed. Hopefully this takes care of it. If not, worst case scenario, is what I had to have done. A radical restore. Everything off the hard drive. Everything back on the hard drive. As I went through this process I thought about what it means to restore in the spiritual sense.
The Bible says that we have sinned and lost the glory of God. Though we still mirror His image it is pretty faded. Diminished. Nowhere close to what it once was. Or should be. So is a partial restore in order? I don’t think so. This is the thinking of the world. Self-help books, therapy and much counseling is about partial restore. Get the person back to where they are functional again. But a partial restore is still only partial. It is far short of complete. Of restoring back to mint condition. Or peak operation. The fact is that only God can do a radical restore.
This radical restore involved Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross. Being both God and man, only Jesus was in a position to make atonement for sins. As we repent of our sins and put our faith in Him as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives. And the process of restoration begins. Immediately, the penalty is paid, the power of sin is broken, but the presence of sin, ah, that takes time. In fact, it takes a lifetime. But moment by moment, day by day, year by year, the Holy Spirit is quietly at work in our lives. Restoring a proper set of values. Restoring damaged or missing emotions. Restoring our mind so that we can understand the plans and purposes of God. Restoring our heart to one that loves Him.
I am so glad that my spiritual ‘tech’ knows what He’s doing. He has all the knowledge, all the power, all the resources, to restore me. To make me as good as new. Someday both myself and those who knew me are going to be amazed when they see the final product. I will be something to behold. And so will you. Beautiful. Holy. Pure. Radiating the glory of God.
Lord, I thank you that You have a plan to restore me. To get rid of the sin and impurity that has marred my life. Even now Your Spirit is at work in me. Sometimes I see what He is doing. Other times I don’t. Just the same I am comforted by the fact that someday the restoration will be complete. I will be everything that I long to be. Everything that You created me to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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