Sunday Morning Serenity

The past few days have been cold and gray and rainy, but this morning I woke up to sunshine and a fine-feathered chorus singing in the trees outside. The word "restoration" popped into my head. Actually, it has been floating around up there a lot lately. The Old Testament has much to do with restoration, with the great Hebrew leaders and prophets trying to restore their people's faith and commitment and, more importantly, with God's willingness to restore His covenant with them, no matter how many times they stumbled, wandered, disappointed, and failed. Even though there would be only a tiny remnant of the faithful after Jerusalem's final fall, still, God promised restoration. In his book The Reason for God, Reverend Timothy Keller talks about the restoration of shalom—ultimate peace and harmony, the universe as God intended it, the universe before man chose sin and disrupted everything. He makes the point (which I'm probably explaining badly here) that salvation and grace through Christ aren't just about saving your soul and mine—they're about restoring that wonderful original order. It's interesting to think about—what would happen if all of humankind accepted God's gift of grace and committed to following Christ's example of love, peace, forgiveness, and justice. The nightly news would look radically different, I imagine. There wouldn't be very much bad news to report. We all need restoration—in many ways. We need to have our spirits restored when we're discouraged, our strength restored when we're weary, our joy restored after great sorrow. When I was a child, sitting on the piano bench with my beloved teacher, Mrs. Jenny Glenn, she used to always remind me, "Music is a gift from God, and it's meant to be shared." I would say the same thing about restoration—it's a gift from God that we can share with each other. Just in the past couple of weeks, friends and family have restored Dave and me in so many ways. Hoping we can pass their gift along to others who might be walking a rocky road . . .

"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
I will not accuse forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me—
the breath of man that I have created.
I was enraged by his sinful greed;
I punished him, and hid my face in anger,
yet he kept on in his willful ways.
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will guide him and restore comfort to him,
creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel.
Peace, peace, to those far and near,"
says the Lord. "And I will heal them." 
Isaiah 58:15-19 

 

Comments

[Nancy Dorman-Hickson]

You've made me think about aspects of faith and religion I've never thought about before. Here is what I read this morning that fits:

"God must be very great to have created a world which carries so many arguments against his existence." Unknown writer

[Valerie]

Thanks, Sister Nancy! Love that quote.