This is the final chapter in our series exploring the Five Chapter Gospel at Selah
Restoration is the fifth stage in God's plan for creation, what we call "The Five Chapter Gospel". It all began with Creation, and was followed by the Fall. The story doesn't end there, though. The cross offers us Redemption, which leads to Renewal, and finally, at the very end of it all, we arrive at Restoration. Today, we meditate on this last stage, and how the hope of Restoration can change the way we view our todays and our tomorrows.
Living in the here-and-now is a broken idea
There's an arrow in the image above, and it's leading in one direction and one direction only: towards infinity. And that's at odds with the way most of us live. We live in the "here and now", and we plan for the here and now. Not infinity, not the far-tomorrow, just today. The stark here, and the stark now.
Barring the eternal optimists in the room, the global here-and-now seems to be filled with a strife and a struggle that just refuses to die down. More war, more division, more otherness, more depression, more doubt. And as much as we would love to believe that this is a symptom exclusively of our times, the book of Romans tells us it’s not.
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
Picture the whole of creation in the pains of childbirth, right up to the present time, waiting for eternity to arrive. 2000 years ago, when this passage was written, they could already see that creation was groaning. They could already see that they were groaning in their day-to-day, and it continues to be the case down to this current day. It’s not easy, is it? It feels like there’s relief around the corner, that there’s a bend in the road beyond which the groaning will stop, that there’s a step we can take that makes it all feel like it’s enough. But there isn’t. Not yet, and surely not in the here-and-now.
There is a promise, though. A promise of peace.
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Again, picture the vivid image painted in this passage. A literal picture of peace and stillness we just can’t imagine today. Notice that there’s rivalry between the animals mentioned in this passage, from the wolf and the lamb down to the young child and the viper, and here’s the thing: all these volatile rivalries we see in life will be laid down. That’s the promise here: a promise of peace.
Imagine that. Imagine a world without the volatile rivalries the news is filled with today — man against man, country against country, group against group. I believe God’s written a yearning for holiness and completeness into our DNA that has yet to be realised. If we spend a moment to reflect on this, we will also notice that the most difficult rivalries are in our personal relationships: within our families, between our families.
And that’s the promise of heaven: a life without that kind of conflict, and all of that rivalry. A life with peace.
The city of heaven is a place of true restoration
The popular songwriter says that heaven is a place on earth, but that’s such a limited, inaccurate read of the real promise of heaven: true restoration. There’s no death in heaven, not even for blades of grass. We can lay down our fear of death — for what comes after is restoration.
The struggle that we are going through in the here-and-now will pass, and there is a moment coming when we will be completely holy, completely remade, completely restored. And there is real hope in that: all volatile rivalry will be put to an end, and God will remake this world.
And if you’ve ever wondered who is covered in God’s plan, know that the restoration is for you, for your life, and even for this world: all of it righteous and holy, all of it according to his plan. Every blade of grass, every monument, every waterfall, even every life. That is our great hope.
“For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ”
Hebrews 11 is an interesting passage: we read of men and women of great faith, from Abraham to Isaac and Jacob and Sarah and beyond. What is even more interesting is to note that all these people died without ever getting what they were promised in the present world, but it is very clear that their promises came true after.
They saw these things from afar, from a heavenly country. Their vision on earth wasn’t filled with the cities they’d left behind — the cities in their past, the cities in their rearview; instead, they were looking for a better country, a heavenly one. And for this, God was not ashamed to be called their God. He prepared a city for them, a heavenly city. A city that God has prepared not just for them, but for you and for me as well.
Walking boldly towards eternity
Where then is your compass set, and what is your true north? An eternity-centered view of life means that our compass has to point to the true north: not the direction that is pointed to by the limitations of this life and this body. If we make all our plans based on what life is like for us today, we deny ourselves the true meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross for us: he did not die just for our here-and-now, he died for our eternity. For an eternity we can spend with him in a state of true restoration.
Our hope has to be in something that’s righteous and holy, in something that goes well beyond this life. Our hope must be in something that’s complete.
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
And this road through the here-and-now is not designed to be walked alone. Romans 8 reminds us that the Holy Spirit is with us here: we are not alone. Can you see that you’re not alone in this time? No matter what your story has been up until this time. No matter what your story will be tomorrow.
Take heart: this is not the end
This world is fallen, and this world is broken: this is seen in the way things are playing out in the world today. But that’s hardly the conclusion of this play: we can take heart in the fact that God is here with us in this moment, and trust him that this is not the end of this story — not the end of your story, not the end of our story. There’s a redemption plan for every one of us here, and God has created a path for us to grow from here and into his righteousness.
That’s the promise written large in God’s plan for creation: the plan we see in the Five Chapter Gospel.