The autumn breeze blew as I sat on the old porch swing. Though traffic hurried by, the overgrown evergreens spread their prickly fingers across the yard as if to say, "Don’t look to the road. Sit and rest." Relaxing I perused the old home where I was holding an open house and imagined what it had been in its glory days. Though the paint was peeling and the wallpaper was outdated, the original beauty of the frame home spoke to me.
I could almost hear the tapping feet of dancers in the spacious front room. Closing my eyes I imagined the brilliant plumage of peacocks I was told used to roost in the trees. It was all still there, hidden under age and dust – waiting to be restored.
"Wouldn’t it be great if someone with the right talent and resources was able to purchase this place and bring it back to life?" I thought.
The human race was once a beautiful and perfect part of God’s creation. Sadly, through disobedience sin entered the world and the deterioration of mankind began. What was once the crown of God’s imagination – a creature made in His image – became tainted with evil. Just as weather and time damage a home’s beauty, sin ruined mankind resulting in physical death and separation from God.
But there is hope. When a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ, God begins a work in their heart. Slowly His transforming power restores His child to what he was created to be. Though there are difficulties along the way, we can be confident that He Who began this work in us will finish it. Someday we will be fully restored and with Him forever.
Only the future knows whether the right buyer can bring back the glory of this old home. But, regardless, I am confident that the God Who began a good work in those who put their faith in Jesus will complete His task. On that great day our lives will again reflect the One in Whose image we were made. Now that’s restoration.
Sandra Sheridan is a Midwest wife and mother of five. She shares her messages to her children with Farm World. Visit her at www.VersesFromMama.blogspot.com
