A work of art, brokeness and restoration

I’m not brilliant at drawing but imagine if I took a picture I had drawn and told everyone how proud I was of it. Imagine as I was talking of how I had worked so hard to overcome adversity to produce this artwork that someone took it from me and ripped it up and threw it in a bin?

If you had been at Orchard Baptist several months ago you could have seen this happen. There was a gasp of shock as someone from the congregation, snatched the paper and ripped it up.

I looked upset and began to talk about how hurt  and disappointed I was by what had just happened. The picture was my best effort and someone had just trashed it.

Life can be cruel and people can be critical of who we are and what we are achieving. Perhaps some of us feel like our lives have been ripped up and thrown in the bin?

I finished the ‘I’m really upset speech’ and then I reached into the bin and pulled out an identical picture that I had hidden there earlier and reminded people that God is in the restoration business. I had signed the picture to show how proud of it I was and that I was willing to be associated with it. God is willing too to be associated with us and he wants to take our broken and damaged lives and to fix us.

When people turn to Jesus as Lord and they and call on him for forgiveness they are born again. There is a new beginning and our restoration in god can begin as soon as we turn to and trust in Jesus.

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. (1 Peter 5.10)

Hope: When we are struggling, God reminds us of the eternal life that we have in him and it was all made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Restoration: God wants to meet with us in our pain and restore us as he brings healing and change to our lives. The picture I have included above is actually one my daughter drew. As her father I would be devastated if I saw her in pain, I would long to comfort and help her through her difficulties.

Support and strength: When we are in pain sometimes we feel as though we cannot go on. If we call on God, he can offer a spiritual support and strength.

Firm foundation: If you are going to build a house that will last, it needs a firm foundation and God is willing to be the foundation of our lives.

The Bible says that Christians are God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2.10).

God longs to restore our lives, but first we need to turn to him.

What are we waiting for?

In my illustration I had to use a trick to make it look like I had fixed the picture but God offers the real thing. A genuine new start and restoration.

God has so much that is good in store for us if we will let him work in our lives.