There’s something about a vintage car that appeals to men. Perhaps it’s the memory of our youth, or possibly it’s as simple as enjoying the beauty of something that’s withstood the years. Whatever it is, seeing those glossy fenders and checking out that freshly tuned engine ignites a thrill in us that makes us want to climb inside and turn the key.
Yet no one feels the same thrill at the junkyard. We might see the possibilities in the rust bucket hidden in the tall grass, but we also recognize the work it will take to put it back into shape. The old heap needs a four-part restoration, one that will take time and effort on our part, or a great deal of cash, if we can afford to pay someone else to do it.
It’s rather like us and Christ. He finds us in the junkyard of our existence, and he sees the possibilities in us. We’re not ready for a test drive, but he knows what we can become. He’s anxious to dive in, shine our fenders, and tune our engines for his work.
Let’s look at the restoration process one step at a time.
Step 1: We have to remove the car from the junkyard.
We can’t perform our restoration in the weeds. We need a controlled environment, one that’s dust free, where we can open up the engine and leave it open until it’s repaired, one where we can apply new paint without it getting marred by contaminants.
It’s the same with us. Christ has to remove us from our spiritual junkyard to begin our transformation.
Step 2: We have to strip away everything that’s rusted or useless.
Patching over rusted metal might create a pretty finish, but the decay is insidious. It will return with a vengeance, destroying the car’s perfection. Old gaskets? Chuck them. Rat-eaten wiring harness? In the dumpster. We can’t reuse those things in our restoration.
Christ has to strip our spiritual decay away. He has to toss those things that are ruined by sin on the trash heap so that he can start afresh.
Step 3: We have to invest a lot of time and money to get the engine and drivetrain right.
No matter how nice a car is, its primary purpose is to get us from Point A to Point B. We can’t leave oil alongside the road, and to lose the transmission is to be stuck in first gear or worse. Just because we can’t see the engine doesn’t mean we can afford to ignore it.
Our spiritual training is the core of who we are in Christ. If we leave our Bible studies undone, we will drip oil all along our journey, making the path slippery for those who come after us.
Step 4: We need to find the best people to give us the best finished product.
No one can do it all. To make our vintage car shine, we need premier upholsterers, the finest of paint shops, and a chrome restoration team beyond compare. Only the best will bring our freshly tuned automobile to perfection.
Christ does the same for us. He tarts us up in his finest. He wants us to shine. Fine clothes? Check. A good automobile? Absolutely. A home that suits our needs? He’s already got the plans on the drawing board.
God is the ultimate connoisseur. He has all the time and resources to bring us to perfection. Four steps? Bah, that’s no problem to him. He’s got plans in the works to give us a frame-off, concours restoration that will make us the best that we can possibly be. Then he can show us off, and everyone will want to take a drive.
Ezekiel 37:9 tells us of God’s four-part restoration in bringing his people back to life. He refers to the four winds, which denote his absolute, total, and complete restoration. God wants to give each of his children a new level of excellence that makes us better than we were before.
We may feel we’ve been cast aside, but God sees us as a work in progress, and he’s ready to get started on our ultimate restoration.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.G.11.15b.vp