THE LEGITIMACY OF RESTORATION

David is 17 feet tall. He was carved by Michelangelo 500 years ago when Florence saw itself as David and Rome as Goliath. It stands in Florence, Italy and is considered by many to be the most priceless sculpture in the world.  This marble statue was unveiled in May of 2004 after having gone through an extensive restoration process over the previous few years. Amazingly, there were two dozen committees, scientific centers and heritage institutions involving 70 people that studied this restoration for over 11 years! They took the restoration of the item to its original beauty very seriously!

From the beginning of the project, however, controversy swirled around several aspects of the restoration. One group thought that the method chosen for the restoration was not the best one. Some thought that they might go too far while others thought they would not go far enough. The degree of restoration was questioned. James Beck, founder of ArtWatch International, a company that monitors the restoration of valuable works of art, contended that the restoration was not even necessary. He questioned its legitimacy. Nevertheless, in the end, those for restoration won the day. They simply wanted to remove the dirt and grime that had accumulated through the centuries and get it back as close to its original beauty as possible.

Don’t the intentions of this latter group sound familiar? As part of the American Restoration Movement, the churches of Christ have sought to restore all aspects of the Lord’s church as He originally intended it. We have sought to remove the dirt and grime of man-made traditions and church laws (Matthew 15:1-9) and to seek “the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:1-16) as taught in the New Testament. We seek to restore the original beauty and order of the Lord’s church, thereby bringing glory to Him.

There are many examples of faithful people of God throughout the ages having sought to restore God’s rule in their lives when they had gone astray. There seems to be many Old Testament cases we could consider. (See 2 Chronicles 24:4; Ezra 2:68; Isaiah 1:26; Jeremiah 30:3, 17-18; 33:7, 11, and 26.) There is also a New Testament case we could consider. (Consider the case of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7; especially verse 5.) Restoration is always a timely topic. But, it is also a legitimate endeavor.

             Ronaldo Ricardo Guzmán