Restoration

There’s a programme on television called Restoration which follows couples who buy old houses and then do them up. Sometimes the houses are real wrecks, but there’s always the potential to make them beautiful again, as they once were. Many of the original features are still in place, such as beautiful oak doors and woodwork, and fine plasterwork ceilings, but it often seems that as the restoration work starts, and the builders begin probing behind brickwork or plaster, more problems become apparent.

This often seems to be the case in our lives. When we invite Jesus to be Lord of our lives, and as the Holy Spirit has been invited to take up residence within us, He begins to probe behind the facade and to dig out the ‘bad parts’ – the parts that aren’t pleasing to God. Sometimes we’re aware of some of the problems, but often others, which we were unaware of, seem to surface, as the Holy Spirit brings revelation.

The wonderful encouragement is that, unlike the Restoration programme on television, we have the original Architect in charge of our rebuilding. He knows exactly how the original ‘building’ was intended to be. He has known us since the beginning of creation (Ephesians 1: 4) and when He begins the renewal within us, He will do a thorough job, not a patched-up one.

It’s sometimes painful to go through the process of change, and we may be reluctant to allow Jesus to come into the mess. It’s as though we keep the front room clean and ready for Him, but the cupboard under the stairs, or the attic, is so untidy that we don’t like to allow Him in there. But it’s those places He really wants to get into, because He can do a better clean out job than we can do ourselves, and He will take it at a pace that we can manage.

Prayer: Father God, You know me so much better than I know myself, and You know how You originally intended me to be. Help me to trust myself in the Architect’s hands and allow You to do all the work in me to bring about the necessary changes, that I may be more like Your original plans. Thank You, Lord, for Your gentleness and love, Amen.