I have a love of woodworking and one of my recently developed hobbies is making rustic wooden clocks out of reclaimed pallet wood. I’ve discovered great satisfaction in taking something old, broken, stained and discarded and turning it into something beautiful, unique and useful.

It wasn’t long ago when my twelve-year-old daughter asked me, “Daddy, can I help you make a clock?” I said, “Sure honey” and equipped her with earplugs and safety glasses as I showed her the ins and outs of working with power tools. I even let her try her hand at painting the numbers for the clock face. Could I have done it quicker, better, and with less mess by myself? Absolutely. But I wanted my daughter to experience the joy of partnering with me in my restorative work. It brought me joy to let her learn and participate.

His Work of Re-Creation
Perhaps that’s exactly how God feels about us joining in his work of restoration. He could do it much quicker, more efficiently, and with a whole lot less of a mess if He simply did it by Himself. He could easily write the gospel in the sky with cloud formations. But throughout history, in His work of Re-Creation, he has consistently and graciously chosen to employ the very beings that originally messed up His work.

If we look at God’s restorative work through the lens of the Old Testament, we find God calling out a people to partner with Him in His redemptive mission. When He meets with Moses on Mount Sinai he says,

“This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” – Exodus 19:3-6

Kingdom of Priests
God’s sovereign election of Israel as His “treasured possession” was not an end in itself. He had a plan for them to partner with Him in His restorative work. They were to function as a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation.” As a nation of priests, they were to mediate the blessings and knowledge of the one true God to the nations around them, and also mediate the worship of the nations to the one true God. They were to be a “holy nation” — a showcase people, accurately reflecting the character of God so that as the peoples of the world traveled along the main trade routes that ran right though the promised land, they could look at the Israelites and say, “Aha! That’s what God must be like!” Unfortunately, the Israelites began selfishly viewing their election as an end in itself. They tarnished God’s reputation in the world, and failed in their function. The prophets tell this heart-breaking story.

Jesus Followers
Fast forward to the New Testament and we read these strikingly similar words from the pen of one of Jesus’ original disciples:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Here, once more, we see God calling us out as a people to partner with Him in His redemptive mission! As Jesus followers, our salvation was never meant to be an end in itself, but rather a means to an end of bringing glory to God through bringing others to knowledge of Him.

Christianity isn’t a spectator sport. Every Jesus follower inherits the privilege of being a participant in God’s cosmic restoration project as His representative on earth. What a privilege! And it’s not just for pastors or “professional ministers.” Participation in His redemptive mission is not a duty. It’s our delight! It isn’t a “have to” … it’s a “get to!” Could God do it better by Himself? Yes, but He seems to find great joy in using us as His messengers and ministers of reconciliation.

His Redemptive Mission
This leads me to a question: Are you spectating or participating? Don’t miss out on the joy of partnering with God in His redemptive mission! Do you need some practical tips on how to “get off the bench” and get started? Read these recent blog posts on “missional on-ramps” and the art of “neighboring” well.