Team Devotional: Restoration & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

By Jon Nicol

I've got a 1971 350 Honda motorcycle. It's in relatively decent shape, until I look at the fully restored ones online. Then, not so much. Would I like to restore it? Yes. Wait. No -- I'd like it to be restored.

I don't want to do the restoration. To restore it means tearing it apart. Removing dents. Repainting. Getting intimate with grease that predates my birth and dealing with gunk that remembers Nixon.

I'm learning that if one owns a vintage bike, one either needs the skills to fix said bike, or enough money for someone else to do it. I have neither. So it runs. Usually.

I got mad at my 6-year old son the other day, madder than the situation warranted. Afterwards, I told my son, "Daddy's sorry." And I meant it. I asked God for forgiveness. And I meant it.

But I stopped there. Confession was relatively easy. Saying 'sorry' was simple. But I wasn't restored.

Restoration's expensive. The price is the costly question "why?" Why did I get so mad? And the cost of asking why leads to the tough work of dismantling my heart and finding the broken piece. And the broken piece is a boy not much older than my son Aedan -- wounded by the words and actions of another, then believing this wound defines him.

But seeing that broken part isn't enough. I need listen as the voice of the Restorer speaks truth into my heart-lie I'm holding. I need to let the hand of the Healer reach in and return that soul-part to its original glory. I need to succumb to the embrace of the Abba Father and, from there, forgive those who wounded me.

It’s one thing to want to be restored. It’s another thing to pay the price of restoration: intimacy with Jesus. It’s simple, but it’s not easy. We need to open ourselves up the Restorer, allowing him to see inside us and tell us the truth.

Until we do, we settle for a life that's in relatively decent shape and runs--usually.

Scripture
Read: Psalm 51:12…Restore to me the joy of your salvation…

Discussion:
Name some ways that the unrestored places in our hearts can hinder us as we lead in worship.

In what ways does confession (admitting our sin) and repentance (turning away from our sin) fall short in this restoration process?

One way intimacy is described is “into-me-see.” Jon is saying that’s what it takes to be restored. Jesus sees into our heart, heals the broken places and speaks truth into the lies we believe. Why is this hard for us to do?

One to think about – and share if you’re bold enough:
Think about a time when you got tense with, mad at or offended by someone on the worship team. Looking back – was it as big of a deal as you made it? If it wasn’t, why do you think you made it such a big deal?

Download the printable copy.

As always, please feel free to add scripture, additional questions, etc. in the comment section below.

This devotional was adapted from the blog post Restoration and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Post graphic derived from Flickr - ratzelster, Creative Commons

April 2, 2012