We discussed how we are changed by seeing the Lord’s glory in His ministries and gifts, but there are overall aspects of His nature that reveal His glory, and as we behold them we are likewise changed by them. The biggest of these is His love. The others are His peace, patience, faithfulness, and all that makes up the fruit of the Spirit. So to grow in wisdom and stature as He did, we must be growing in both the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit.

         His glory is also revealed in His purposes. When the Lord is doing something, building something, or restoring something, we will behold His glory in His works and can be changed by beholding these as well. Abraham began His sojourn because he saw the city God was building, and he left everything he knew to be a part of it. That is why being a part of any project, mission, or building the Lord is doing can transform us.

         As a new Christian, I was captivated by the Lord’s purpose in restoration. The first three chapters of The Bible and the last three chapters, when read together, make a complete story. Everything between those six chapters deals with one subject, which is a basic purpose of God—restoration. His intent is to restore all that was lost by the Fall. We see in many prophetic Scriptures such as Isaiah 11 that the Lord will completely restore the earth to become the paradise He originally created it to be. When we are born again, He begins the process of restoration in us. Then we are called to be His instruments of restoration as we rule and reign with Him in the age to come. This is what we are training for in this age.

         So, until the earth is fully restored, having God’s heart for restoration is primary to being engaged in what He is doing. Throughout my life, I have been given increasingly bigger and more difficult restoration projects. Some of these have been buildings, such as when we acquired the former PTL Heritage Grand Hotel and Conference Center. We needed to restore what had deteriorated to the point where almost no one thought it could be restored. It was difficult, but not nearly as hard, or as important, as the people He gave us to help restore. However, I don’t think anything has stretched my understanding of God and His purposes or revealed the depth of His love for us like being a part of these restoration projects.

         Of course, we too are still in restoration. We should all be very thankful that the Lord does not throw things or people away just because they are flawed, but He restores them. Do we have His heart in this? I have found that very few do, and since it is a basic part of His purpose for this age and the age to come, we need to see His glory in His heart for restoration. One way I know if someone is in touch with this basic purpose of God is by the grace they have for others who sin or have failures in their life.