A friend thought that the 1960 Chevy Impala Super Sport was
the finest looking car of its time. The problem was that he couldn’t afford the
car, even used. On weekend nights, we would go to a nearby, busy intersection to
watch for accidents involving THE car. If there were, he would volunteer to tow
it to his yard for the insurance adjuster to examine.
After the adjuster declared a number of them total wrecks and
the owners signed over the pink slips, my friend started to work. By taking
parts from them all, and straightening the one frame, he eventually had his
dream car. It is one of those cars that I worked on, rode in, even drove
several times, but, being blind, never saw, that although I’m sure by now it
has succumbed to the great auto equalizer—rust—and has joined many others in
the scrap pile, still it lives in my mind as a marvel of making a dream come
true.
With its new metal flake blue paint job, it was something to
behold, at least I think of it that way. It was a wonderful act of restoration,
but still, there was no way to ignore the fact, it had been in an accident. No
matter how many good parts went into it, and there were many, that one fact
remained. It would never be fully righteous.
Today we read about God’s restoration work with the people
of Israel. It is a wonder to behold. Indeed the temple will be rebuilt; it will
be better than before, but the relationship with God will not ignore the times
gone by, nor will the people continue to be in a righteous relationship with
God. The temple will fall, but God’s restoration work will not stop. God’s work
of restoration will extend to God walking among us, dying for us, and rising
from the dead for our sake.
Today that work continues. We continue to make wrecks out of
our lives, but God continues the bodywork of righteousness. Through Christ ’s justifying work we are able to go down the road of
life made new in the body of Christ .
Prayer
Lord, thank you for your continued work of restoration.
Justified in you, may we work for peace and justice in your name. Amen
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