Restoration part 5
In the beginning (man, I love that phrase) when God created something, the Bible always says, "And it was good." Because God doesn't make mistakes. He didn't accidentally create anything. And that goes double for His most prized possession... His greatest creation... us. Psalm 139:14 says it like this, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." We were hand crafted by the Master Carpenter. In other words, you are the way you are for a reason. The true journey of life is not to be someone you're not, but to truly KNOW who you are. To accept yourself. To BE yourself. But the problem is--in the beginning it was all good, remember?--the problem is that we let everything and anything else define us. We listen to what the world is shouting at us instead of listening to the still, small voice of truth deep inside. We let what's inside get buried by... stuff. We let hurts (both real and imagined) change us. We try so hard to conform to the world. And the old question is: Why are you trying so hard to fit in, when you were made to stand out? Why are you trying to be someone else when you are so wonderful? When God created man the Bible puts an extra little stamp on it, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good..." (Genesis 1:31). I'm trying to tell you it's ALL GOOD. It's VERY good. But up until the appointed time (which was 2,000 years ago on an old rugged cross) it was too dark to see. Everything was doom and gloom. We wanted so badly to leave all this behind and get to heaven. The plot twist was the Jesus brought heaven to earth! He didn't come to destroy the world. He came to save it. Because God so loved the world. God wasn't willing to give up on His creation. In fact and in truth He decided He would literally rather die than be without it. Rather die than be without US. So He was in Christ on the cross, reconciling us back to Himself. Restoring things back to the way they were in the beginning. By letting His light shine so that we could see things clearly. So that we might partake of the divine nature that we already have. So that we might be who we really are. Because who we are in Christ is who Christ is in us. That's what He came to show us; that Jesus is God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. He came to redeem us. To restore us. To bring us back to our first love. We spent a lot of time--WASTED a lot of time--looking for love in all the wrong places. But then Jesus came to us and said, "I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." And what makes life abundant? Love! He came to us and showed us what we were looking for. And not only showed us, but GAVE us what we were looking for. Because He IS love. He is the source. The vine. And we are the branches that are connected to Him. We don't earn love. Or produce love. We simply bear it. We simply partake of it, and share it. Because when God restored relationship between Creator and creation, He also restored relationship between creation and creation. He reconnected us with each other. Through the unbreakable bond of love. So that not just the world, and not just you or me as an individual has been restored. But ALL of us. Together. Everything. The Messianic rebirth of the world took something that WE had broken, and put it back to together again. Hurting people hurt people. But loved people love people. Guys... the love has been restored!