Restoring More Than Camps

 

Recently Joel and I have gotten into watching Maine Cabin Masters on the DIY (do it yourself) channel.  It is a show about a few friends and family members who work together to restore what they in Maine call, "camps".  Many of these cabins are deep into the woods near or on a lake,  They have been neglected and are so beat up they appear unsalvageable.  We have said more than once in the beginning of a show that they should just tear them down and start over.  Yet by the end of the show they have created a great little camp that the owners are able to spend their summers and weekends enjoying.  It is amazing to see them after they have been renovated, rebuilt, and restored.

I could not help but think about us humans, as broken people who need a whole lot of Jesus.  We who need renovating and restoring!  And our Master Creator has the skills and desire to take us and mold us into Christ-like beings who radiate His love and kindness into the world.  We certainly need that in this present moment more than ever, don't we.  

God loves us so much that He not only sent His only son to die for us in every way, shape, and form, but He also wants us to hold on to the knowledge that Holy Spirit lives in us.  He is part of us.  That gives us the power and authority needed to release the fruits of the Spirit in us.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, the fruits that are to pour out of us as we walk with Jesus and let our Creator mold and shape us into His likeness.

Just like those cabins/camps that look so beat up and unsalvageable........we too may look that way when we look in the mirror, look at our past, or look at our failings.  We may look at others and think they should just be forgotten....no hope for them!  But God looks at us, all of us, just like the cabin masters in Maine, and sees our potential.  He knows we have all sinned and fallen short, yet sees what we can be and cannot yet see,  and He loves us enough to lead us down "paths of righteousness".

Thankfully, God is in the business of restoring more than camps in Maine.  It is up to us to open ourselves to the possibilities He sees in us.  To open ourselves to forgiveness and forgiving...to open our hearts to others as we all rely on His promises and let Holy Spirit release His fruits within us, grateful for our Master Creator seeing in us potential, seeing what we cannot yet see.....Isn't He amazing?!