Restoration
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. – Psalm 51:10
Recently, when learning a new task on the computer, I was amazed at the abilities of modern technology. I was working with a program that copies and
corrects sound files from old cassette tapes—in this case, tapes of sermons. First, I transferred the sound files into the computer, which
then displayed a graph of the sound waves. Next, I normalized the sound quality, performed an analysis, and then a reduction process. This computer
program contains options to adjust the sound volume giving the operator the opportunity to increase or decrease a spot of sound that may have previously
recorded poorly. If the sound of someone dropping a book or coughing interferes with the presentation of the sermon, it is possible to actually
remove that sound from the recording. When the process is completed, the new and improved version can be transferred onto a CD.
That made me think—God had this idea first! He took us just as we were when we asked to be saved from sin. Upon salvation, the sin went out,
normalizing our life so we can live the way God had intended in the beginning. Improvements as well as removals take place along the way. We read
different books, listen to different music, dress more modestly. If we were prone to using the Lord’s name in vain, that is removed out of the
heart and off the lips. The Scripture says, “Old things are passed away, behold; all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5: 17). As our walk
with the Lord deepens and we submit our life to His leading, He adjusts our personality into His image of virtue, temperance, and kindness (2 Peter
1:4-8). When the process is completed to His satisfaction, we will transfer from this life to His very presence! There we will not be merely an
improved model, but our Lord’s best, translated body and all!