By Rev. Aidan Moon

Finding the Beauty Underneath

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.”

– Acts 3:19-21, English Standard Version

Early in our marriage Naomi and I ended up with this handmade table. The previous owners had covered it in matte black paint, covering up the original wood grain. During one move, part of the paint began to bubble and chip with some water exposure. As we had kids, the paint became sticky and accumulated dust and grime. It was in rough shape.

However, underneath was still the original handmade table – a sturdy, useful, and yes, beautiful piece of furniture. So, without much experience, I decided to tackle the restoration project.

When Jesus comes upon the scene, God’s creation is in rough shape. Yet underneath the sin, underneath the pain, the suffering, the thorns and thistles, is still God’s creation – that which he made with his own Word and called good. And that includes you and me.

This is the original Christian message, this teaching from Peter on Pentecost. You and I are part of a larger story of restoration and redemption. Jesus is risen from the dead, and that means that the restoration has begun. But what that looks like in the meantime might look messy. It starts with repentance, with sorrow over sin, and with God’s steady and pruning work in our lives. All this process, this stripping away of sin, is ultimately for refreshing and restoration… of all things. That’s where the story ends. When Christ returns, God will restore all things. In the meantime, in our struggle with sin and the ache of this broken world, we can live in hope that this is all aiming somewhere – toward God’s ultimate restoration.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”

– Romans 8:18-19, English Standard Version

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