Restoration

For weeks now, a theme and concept has been running through my head, at times drawing me to pen and paper so I can scribble down potential song lyrics. This has been a time when I have been inspired rather often, and I consider it a blessing that He has given me words and lyrics to reflect what I am observing and learning in this season of my life.

I have found that the idea of restoration has sparked a new passion to pursue my work in music and ministry. For the past few months, my home church has been working through a book called The Story, which is a 31-week journey through the Bible. In his sermons each Sunday morning, Pastor Tim has made it clear that we as people are at the center of the story and the center of God’s creation. He has continued to make it known that God continues to pursue His creation (His people) even though we are sinful, broken, and weak to the core.

I was humbled to think of myself as one of God’s children this week as we celebrated the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It all began on Easter morning when we celebrated both Christmas and the Resurrection in the context of one worship service. Pastor Tim stood under a large wooden cross and held a one-week-old baby. He asked the congregation if the crucified Christ and the baby Jesus could co-exist with each other. My immediate reaction was: YES! Christ came to earth willingly as a baby; He left His heavenly home to be with His people, and then He chose to die for the sins of the human race. He could have removed Himself from the inevitable and walked away, choosing not to save us… but He didn’t. He chose to restore the hurting, the broken, and those burdened by sin.

The situation is no different today; creation is still broken and sinfulness abounds. Marriages are falling apart, people are going hungry, anxiety and fear rule over one’s life, and others simply don’t realize how much they are in need of a savior. Even those who call themselves Christians are so far away from truly serving Him, and they/we go about life as if we can handle everything on our own. We pray hurried prayers each night as we fall asleep, giving God our obligatory five minutes in His presence. We wake up, already late for work or school, telling ourselves we’ll have time to read the Bible and pray later. We often “talk the talk” in front of our friends and peers, but do we ever really “walk the walk?”

Now, I use the words “we” and “our” here because I am just as guilty of these things as the next person. Over lunch this past week, I confessed to a dear friend that I longed for restoration in several relationships— for God to come in and work a miracle in our lives and in my friends’ relationships with Christ. I told her about a recent afternoon when I received word from one of these friends, thanking me for continuing to seek them out and offer love. I responded to this person the only way I knew how; I would continue to offer love and support without any barriers because it is what God calls me to do. I had the proverbial door slammed in my face on so many occasions, and I knew that the road ahead wouldn’t be easy, but I had no choice but to keep trying. As I typed out a reply to my friend’s message and later as the day continued, I was gripped with a sudden realization.

This is how God must feel when He continues to seek us out as a means of restoration and we continue to push Him away. He wants to have relationship with His people, and our half-hearted commitments must sadden Him time and time again. It gave me pause and made me consider what it might look like to show Him boundless love in return and allow Him to come in and restore me. As for my friends, I know I can continue to pursue them in love because Christ has shown me a true love beyond compare. If He welcomes me back into His arms despite my shortcomings, who am I to refuse to offer love to those who need it the most?