About once a week I get the prompt from Google informing me that Chrome has failed to shut down correctly. In their eagerness to simplify my life they always offer the, ever so helpful, option of just clicking restore. If only life were that easy.

We’re talking a lot about Biblical Restoration these days, but I wonder if we’re truly prepared for what that might involve. And seriously, what exactly is it that we want to be restored to? Is it the church circa 1950? Is it doing Bible things in Bible ways like foot-washings (John 13:14), lifting holy hands (I Timothy 2:8), women praying and prophesying (Acts 21:9, I Corinthians 11:5), or calling for the elders to anoint you with oil as they pray over you in the name of our Lord (James 5:14)?

What exactly will we pick and choose to bring about this restoration? And who gets to make that decision?

Maybe it’s time we come to the realization that restoration isn’t about the early church. It’s about the empty tomb.

It’s about the avalanche of awe, joy, and peace that came from standing in front of Jesus and seeing those wounds (John 20:19). It is being certain of the fact that He walked our dusty roads and that He will return. And it is wanting to take as many people with us as we can on that great day.

Restoration isn’t about the worship service. It’s about the worship lifestyle but sadly, we’ve taken Christianity and tied it up in a neat, nice little box. We’ve even put a sign out front. We beckon the world to come to us when restoration is about going out into the world. It’s time that we get out of that building and get with the broken.

For true restoration, every Christian needs to preach Jesus (that means you, too, ladies).

Restoration will take us into uncomfortable places and situations. It will surround us with the outcast and may even turn us into one. It will test our faith and everything that we think we’re certain of. It will cause broken hearts and open old wounds. It will make us wonder how we can keep loving that person when they just don’t really deserve it. It will be dangerous, inconvenient, and will put several of our sacred cows at risk but restoration brings revolution. And Christians, isn’t it about time?