What I learned about spiritual restoration by refinishing furniture

‬‬By Dean Collins

The first time I ever tried to refinish or restore a piece of furniture I was a teenager. I did it a few more times in my 20s, mainly to try and make do with what I had because I could not afford to buy a new piece of furniture. I learned a few things each time I attempted to give something new life:

1) The quality of the original has something to do with the quality of the restoration.
2) Directions were written back in the day and not on YouTube. Written directions were sometimes hard to follow, and it was never as easy as described on the can or bottle of products one used to get the old finish off the furniture.
3) Your work is only as good as your skill level.
4) It takes longer than you think to sand and prepare the wood than to stain it.
5) It is worth it to pay someone who knows what they are doing.

‘A Community of Restoration’

Last week the fall semester started at Point University where I work. This year marks the 17th time I have welcomed students to campus and introduced our campus community to our spiritual formation theme. This year’s theme is “A Community of Restoration.” As I prepared my message I started thinking about my furniture restoration attempts. I shared with the students my mediocre results from my first attempt at it. I also shared that just a couple of years after that attempt my parents separated and then divorced a few months later. The impact of that event produced a much deeper and harder work of restoration for me and for many others. Restoring furniture is one thing. Restoring brokenness in people is very different.

‘Restore us, O God’

In the 19 verses of Psalm 80, three times the psalmist offered this line to remind the reader of our great need for restoration and to plead with God for his help in the process: “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!”

The psalmist knew of the many times in the past that God and only God had rescued and restored his people. The psalmist did what many other scripture writers also did; he described the escape of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt and their time in the wilderness as a great marker of God’s powerful deliverance. It was one of his great works of restoration.

Our need for ultimate restoration continues even today. As much as we like to think we can figure life out by ourselves and fix the broken pieces in us on our own, time and time again we fail. We are all in need of restoration. And the good news is really good news: God made a way for all of us and all creation to receive complete and wonderful restoration!

The applications I’ve learned

What I learned from my few furniture restoration experiences applies in the spiritual realm.

1) The quality of the original has something to do with the quality of the restoration.
We know from Genesis that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and on the sixth day he created man in his own image. I assume you will agree with God that when he said his creative work was good it was indeed very good. And since God’s original was very good, his restored earth and humankind will be very good too.

2) Directions were written back in the day and not on YouTube. Written directions were sometimes hard to follow, and removing old finish was never as easy as described on the product label.
God arranged for us to have some written directions. And I can’t criticize the God-breathed Word of God. It is wonderful and full of truth. But I will point out that all of us seem to have trouble living out all of the truth of scripture based solely on what we read and comprehend. God left us something better than YouTube to help us. He left us a community to help us see the Word of God lived out daily. The community of faith gives us a real-time view of lives in the process of restoration. We all serve as examples to someone of what kingdom restoration looks like.

3) Your work is only as good as your skill level.
The skill level of Jesus guarantees that if we submit to him he is fully adequate to bring about our restoration. And as Creator of the universe, he can handle the final work of the restoration of all things when he returns.

4) It takes longer than you think to sand and prepare the wood than to stain it.
We are a work in progress. By now I suspect you have figured out the same thing I have; we are slow learners, and so the restoration of the brokenness of our lives and the things we contributed to the brokenness in others takes time to heal and restore.

5) It is worth it to pay someone who knows what they are doing.
The good news is that Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross. He alone is worthy. He alone can bring about the full restoration of all of his creation.

Last week as I shared my thoughts with our students we rehearsed until we memorized our theme verse. We prayed it together as we closed out convocation. It’s a good verse for us to remember and to pray today:

“Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved”!

Amen

Photo by Los Muertos Crew at pexels.com

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