Restoration

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”- 2 Cor. 13:11

There are so many home improvement shows on television today. We have Flip This House, House Hunters Restoration, and Bathroom Kings Replacing The Throne (okay, this one is made up), but you get the point. Home restoration is a major theme and apparently there is a major market for shows of this caliber. The issue with these shows is how they portray the restorative process. Normally, it is an hour long show, with 14 minutes of commercials, and they have 3 days to do the job. Money and time are said to be an issue, but they almost always go over the established budget. Normally, after the show is over, I think “Man, I can do that!” Then, when reality sets in, I think “Man, there is no way I can do that. I am a failure.”

The reality is; the restorative process on the home takes time. When someone does these jobs on their own it can take months. Time and money are an issue. Budgets cannot be exceeded, in most cases. The issue is, these shows, give a false idea of how easy these projects can be or how they can be accomplished in a few days if you take some time off of work.

This is the issue we have facing many who come to know Jesus that were not raised in the Church and/or have lived a life that is not necessarily one that glorified Christ. They see people walking in a way that seems like they were restored instantly and wonder why it hasn’t happened so quickly for them. I have had some people share with me they left the church because “they couldn’t match up” to what they saw or “it didn’t feel like I thought it was supposed to feel like”. This breaks my heart!

Apparently these people have witnessed a false makeover show. They have seen people walking as if they were changed instantly. I have seen some who have made some drastic changes overnight, but still have struggles. Even when I came to know Jesus at the age of 16, I still gave into participating in activities that were unhealthy. I had to grow in Jesus for my life to move forward. 

Gradually I was able to step away from those activities, gradually I had to learn and realize what it meant to be a follower of Jesus…and I am still learning.

For those who are new to their relationship with Christ, let me encourage you in your faith and know that things will not be perfect until you are with Jesus. Your process may take longer or shorter than others. God has a different plan for all of us and our time of transformation is different. Allow the process to take its course, mainly because the process is a lifetime. If you have watched others walk or live like they have it all together, change that channel; that is a fake reality show that will leave you feeling like a failure. 

Embrace the restoration process and strive for it.