I Am...Your Restorer!

I am the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14)...Part 3

Not only does a good shepherd lead...

                A good shepherd provides...

                And a good shepherd restores our souls.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures

He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul...

(Ps. 23:1-3a)

I have three friends who love to restore old cars.  Once classics, now damaged on the outside, rusted with time, and internally exhausted – done!  They beat, pound, weld, sand, scrub, pull apart, replace, wash, spray, paint, wire, bolt, and connect and keep on doing more of the same – until, voila!  What seemed hopeless is new again and its value is restored – actually, more than restored.

People are hard on cars over the years.  People are hard on people.  Too often enough, the wear and tear of life, aren’t the only reason we need to be restored.  Sometimes, the way people treat us, hastens the battering and the bleeding and the wearing out of the soul.  I frequently sit knee to knee, and look eye to eye with some of these people.  I have been one.  Restoration of old cars is an expensive, long, and tiresome process.  So is restoring a soul.

But Jesus...He is in the restoration business.  That’s in his job description.  People are far too valuable to bring before some novice, hobby-loving repairman.  People deserve better.  To begin with, Jesus has already purchased everything we will need to be completed.  It’s been paid for with his blood.  We don’t have to put a dime into fixing ourselves, and couldn’t afford him if we had a dime. So...it’s a done deal.

He has all the right tools – love, grace, mercy, patience, forgiveness, gentleness, kindness are just a few.  He knows when, where and how to use them.

He has the time – He’ll stay with us as long as it takes, never leaving us or forsaking us.

He knows how to best care for us with exactly what we need – after all, he created us.  Who better, then, to do the restoring?

Oh, and he has an instruction manual to help us along the way – so we don’t have to have a complete over haul, ever again.  The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul (Ps 19:7)! 

He thinks of everything!  Now, while on the road of life, we can look for the warning lights, change the oil regularly, and do some daily maintenance that will keep our souls running like energizer bunnies... J

Here’s the real message of restoration!

Only God can turn a mess into a message

A test into a testimony

A trial into a triumph

And a victim into a victorious warrior!

Come to your good shepherd.  Be restored.