RESTORATION.
The act of bringing something back to its original state. To restore is to repair, to improve the current state of an object, situation, or even a person. Restorations are only possible when the thing has fallen from its original state. My blog, for example, is a rather messy muddled journal of my thoughts and progressions/recessions from life. I have been unable to keep it up, however, due to my obligations as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There are a few changes to that obligation, however, and now I am again at the opportunity to be able to restore my blog, and to continually increase upon its potential effectiveness and possibilities. Restoration, however, goes far, far deeper.
Lets start with an old car. It is rusted and decayed and has no real purpose anymore, except to get in the way and be an eye sore to the owner. It cannot run effectively (if at all) and is not attractive. It is in a sad state, to say the least. If we were to compare ourselves to this awful rusted automobile at first we would double take. What? Me? I am no rusted car, I have a purpose and I am not an eyesore to my maker! I am trying my hardest, I am working hard and have friends. I am loved, and I love. Sure, I may have my follies, but who doesn't?
I think though, that as we start to look a little deeper into the situation we will see the rusted out parts, the functions that have been neglected and abused. It might be rather scary at first, we may wonder how on earth this happened. We may think that "oh, it is such a small thing, drastic action needn't be taken on such a small part of me. To change myself is to not accept me for being me."
Looking back to car, carefully study its sorry condition. As you do so, the question may come to you about how did this happen? It couldn't possibly have just woken up one day like that, could it? Science says not. Logic says not. God says not.
No, the automobile did not in fact rust out and die in one day. The owner may have come to his senses and realized in one day of its obviously worn out and ineffective state, but by no means did the car magically corrode and rot and rust. No, it started by a simple and small oversight on the details of the car, such as a minor scratch on the trunk that started to peel and rust a little bit, or the innards of it slowly start to slow down, fade, and break. The small things. It may even started as small and simple (not to mention easy and cheap) neglect to fix the windshield wipers. Think, a whole car basically abandoned simply because the wipers where worn out and where not thought of to be fixed. You may think to yourself, "Nonsense, I would never abandon myself for rust simply by needing regular maintenance. The comparison is absurd and offensive."
The comparison may indeed be a little absurd, any comparison of something as beautiful and infinitely possible as us has to be a little ridiculous. Nonetheless it is important to see the moral of the story. Let me explain through example:
Larry likes to play basketball. Simple enough right? He wants really badly to succeed at this sport, and though he may not aspire to become a professional he at least wants to be recognized as a great basketball player. As he starts to play more and become a recognized player, he gets confident. Of course this leads to him boasting of his abilities, as well as stopping to regularly recognize his strengths and his weaknesses. He starts to lose, naturally, which wakes him up from his little blind spell. Being forced to see his faults, Larry gets a little angry and stubborn, saying his obviously relaxed and lazy shooting form is just 'his style' and that he is just down on his luck. That is like trying to paint over the rust of the car, the problem is now 'justified' and out of sight, but it certainly is not gone, no, it is still very much alive and destructive, just ignorantly so now. To excuse yourself of any such acts is to dismiss that you are a human being, it is a blatant lie and a thief to your character.
Larry will never retain his recognition of being a great basketball player because he refuses to alter the corrosion of his great style. If he continues his justification, it will eat up his talent until it is nothing but a hollow shell of the useful machine it once was. The car is no different, justifying even the smallest crack or fade in the paint is justifying it becoming a useless piece of garbage.
To apply this to ourselves is to condemn us. Our cracks and fades are innumerable. Our faults are infinite. Damnation is complete. Such a depressing thought, such a negative and a dark way to see one another, and yet it must be. We are fallen, and because of this we cannot be infinite, we cannot be immortal, we cannot be that person we so desperately long to be. We need... We need a restoration.
Yes, a restoration. We must accept that our car is rusted out. It may still be drivable, and indeed may arguably still be in relatively good condition, but the fact must be accepted that there are things wrong with our car. Once we see that we are imperfect, once we note the fact that rust does exist, we immediately see that we need a change. It may be small (usually) or it may be big changes (sometimes, though not as often as we may think) we need to see that we must change. No matter how unique, 'beautiful' or pleasing to the eye that bit of rust or queerness of function may be, it cannot be attached to our character. We are children of God first and foremost, more so than we are a good soccer player or a terrible singer, more so than we are a beautiful artist or a an awful speaker, more so than we are a depressed person or a happy person. To take away our faults from our character is to see them for what they are: something less than us. Why on earth would we keep a corroded battery in a remote control saying "well it makes it special! It is a part of the remote!" NO! It is not there to help accomplish its purpose at all, but instead to simply destroy it any and all usefulness. How is a negative attribute in us any different?
Get the facts straight: we are imperfect. We need help. We need something or someone higher than us to help us. but who?
We need help.
Looking back to car, carefully study its sorry condition. As you do so, the question may come to you about how did this happen? It couldn't possibly have just woken up one day like that, could it? Science says not. Logic says not. God says not.
No, the automobile did not in fact rust out and die in one day. The owner may have come to his senses and realized in one day of its obviously worn out and ineffective state, but by no means did the car magically corrode and rot and rust. No, it started by a simple and small oversight on the details of the car, such as a minor scratch on the trunk that started to peel and rust a little bit, or the innards of it slowly start to slow down, fade, and break. The small things. It may even started as small and simple (not to mention easy and cheap) neglect to fix the windshield wipers. Think, a whole car basically abandoned simply because the wipers where worn out and where not thought of to be fixed. You may think to yourself, "Nonsense, I would never abandon myself for rust simply by needing regular maintenance. The comparison is absurd and offensive."
'Cause you told me that I would find a hole
within the fragile substance of my soul
and I have filled this hole with things unreal
all the while my character it steals
The comparison may indeed be a little absurd, any comparison of something as beautiful and infinitely possible as us has to be a little ridiculous. Nonetheless it is important to see the moral of the story. Let me explain through example:
Larry likes to play basketball. Simple enough right? He wants really badly to succeed at this sport, and though he may not aspire to become a professional he at least wants to be recognized as a great basketball player. As he starts to play more and become a recognized player, he gets confident. Of course this leads to him boasting of his abilities, as well as stopping to regularly recognize his strengths and his weaknesses. He starts to lose, naturally, which wakes him up from his little blind spell. Being forced to see his faults, Larry gets a little angry and stubborn, saying his obviously relaxed and lazy shooting form is just 'his style' and that he is just down on his luck. That is like trying to paint over the rust of the car, the problem is now 'justified' and out of sight, but it certainly is not gone, no, it is still very much alive and destructive, just ignorantly so now. To excuse yourself of any such acts is to dismiss that you are a human being, it is a blatant lie and a thief to your character.
Larry will never retain his recognition of being a great basketball player because he refuses to alter the corrosion of his great style. If he continues his justification, it will eat up his talent until it is nothing but a hollow shell of the useful machine it once was. The car is no different, justifying even the smallest crack or fade in the paint is justifying it becoming a useless piece of garbage.
To apply this to ourselves is to condemn us. Our cracks and fades are innumerable. Our faults are infinite. Damnation is complete. Such a depressing thought, such a negative and a dark way to see one another, and yet it must be. We are fallen, and because of this we cannot be infinite, we cannot be immortal, we cannot be that person we so desperately long to be. We need... We need a restoration.
Darkness is a harsh term, don't you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see
Yes, a restoration. We must accept that our car is rusted out. It may still be drivable, and indeed may arguably still be in relatively good condition, but the fact must be accepted that there are things wrong with our car. Once we see that we are imperfect, once we note the fact that rust does exist, we immediately see that we need a change. It may be small (usually) or it may be big changes (sometimes, though not as often as we may think) we need to see that we must change. No matter how unique, 'beautiful' or pleasing to the eye that bit of rust or queerness of function may be, it cannot be attached to our character. We are children of God first and foremost, more so than we are a good soccer player or a terrible singer, more so than we are a beautiful artist or a an awful speaker, more so than we are a depressed person or a happy person. To take away our faults from our character is to see them for what they are: something less than us. Why on earth would we keep a corroded battery in a remote control saying "well it makes it special! It is a part of the remote!" NO! It is not there to help accomplish its purpose at all, but instead to simply destroy it any and all usefulness. How is a negative attribute in us any different?
Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine
Together we will see what we will find
Don't leave me alone at this time
for I am afraid of what I might discover inside
We need help.
