The Journey to Restoration

I thought you'd enjoy this conversation with Mitch Kruse, author of the book Restoration Road: The Master Key to a New and Satisfied Life of Authenticity. I highly recommend the book -- especially to men seeking more from life, and from their relationship with God. CVB

Q:  One of the most common desires expressed by the postmodern generation is for authenticity—both from others and within themselves. Why do you say a life of authenticity is only possible when we allow ourselves to be totally restored?

A:  Authenticity aligns our lives from the inside out. As postmoderns, we tend to deconstruct the layers of every person we encounter to discover whether he or she is someone who is the same, someone who is truly “authentic,” all the way through to the core of his or her being. Pretense, the opposite of authenticity, misaligns our lives from the outside in. Pretense focuses on the outside at the expense of the inside. In the collector car world, we call this a cosmetic restoration—a vehicle is spruced up on the outside just enough to fool others that it is restored. It is only a matter of time before the concealed truth about the vehicle’s cancerous undercarriage is revealed, followed by another outside in attempt at restoration. This process never satisfies.

When we are uninformed, unaware, or unbelieving, we often pretend that we are the ultimate designers in our lives. Consequently, we pretend with ourselves, with God, and with others that we do not need inside out restoration. Those of us who continue on this path live our lives trapped in continual, progressive pretense that leaves us dissatisfied. In life, our desire to be restored comes as a result of the damage, the dings, the rust, and the corrosion that comes from trying to live our lives our own way.

And such a desire is not new to us today—we find the desire to be restored to authenticity scattered in writings throughout history, in religious texts, in those we love, and even in today’s news headlines. And when we’re honest, we also find it hidden in the darkest places within ourselves. We hear it in the countless whispers of anyone who longs to be brought back to a life that restores him from the pride-filled addictions that leave him destroyed.

Restoration is truly humanity’s deepest desire.

Q:  What audience were you thinking of when you wrote this book?

A:  I believe this deep need for restoration is universal. It’s the human condition. So I intended to communicate that message to a wide and varied audience. This book is for everyone from the high-powered CEO to the searching high school student to the stay at home mom. This message is for those who have never given any thought to God’s laws or His way of doing things and for those who have been raised in the church and may secretly believe that they have done such a good job following the rules that they are no longer in need of restoration.

Q:  The book includes many stories from your own restoration process. Tell us about your life before you took those first steps down restoration road. What was the turning point for you, the moment when you realized it was time to surrender your life to this process?

A:  My family had set the bar extremely high in terms of achievement. Both my father and my grandfather were famous auctioneers, and I was determined to follow in their footsteps. So I became the world’s youngest Realtor and licensed auctioneer as a senior in high school. Our world-renowned family business specializing in classic cars and other high-end auctions had suffered a devastating blow, and we were all but ruined. I made it my mission to rebuild the business, restore the family name, and then to become a billionaire by the time I turned 40. I wanted to prove to the world that a Christian could do it. But my years of foolishness with money, of putting my business before my family and faith, led to me believing I was the master of my own fate. I realized how fragile and empty the world I’d created for myself really was. I didn’t want to be the one in control of my destiny. That was the moment I surrendered my broken life to the Restorer’s plan.

Q:  In the book, you describe two conditions of the heart that prevent us from beginning the journey to restoration. What are the characteristics of those conditions? What kind of heart does God desire for us?

A:  We see these two opposite heart problems in the parable of the prodigal son. The prodigal has a heart of sand. He is lawless. He feels he has the license to do whatever he pleases, and because of that, he reaps terrible consequences. The sand heart is scattered, easily blown about by the circumstances of life, and completely lacks any form. He is too busy pursuing his own folly to notice the damage he is doing to himself, and it takes a storm of misery to open his eyes.

On the other hand, the older brother in the story has a heart of stone. His heart has been hardened by legalism and the illusion that since he has kept all the rules, he is self-sufficient and entitled to certain things. It never occurs to him that he is in need of restoration. He’s too good for that. Reshaping his stone heart requires the use of a severe tool.

God desires clay hearts for his people. The heart of clay is softened by love. It is easily reshaped, and it is completely dependent upon the Designer to give it form, significance, and purpose. The clay heart is a humble heart, and it only happens when we take an honest look at our condition and recognize our deep need for God’s restoring hands.

Q:  What is the key that unlocks the gate leading to restoration road?

A:  In a word, surrender. God does not force His restoration on His children. His passion is to make old, damaged things new again. This can only happen when the old is surrendered. Like a classic car that needs restoration, each one of us must surrender our old basket case of a life to the Restorer. He begins to disassemble and renovate the components of our lives, piece by piece, whether they are un-restored or self-restored. Finally, the new is surrendered again.

As the restoration process unfolds, we learn that we are designed to bring authentic restoration to others. We surrender the new for this purpose and continue to surrender any old parts that corrode again over time.
 
Q:  Just as the physical heart has four chambers, you believe the spiritual heart is comprised of four chambers and each of us also carries four God-given desires that shape our decisions and our values. Tell us more about this.

A: God created our spiritual hearts with four chambers that we can remember in the acronym WISE (Will, Intellect, Spirit, and Emotions). The Will is the chamber of our choices. The Intellect is the chamber of our thoughts. The Spirit is the lead chamber of our prayers. The Emotions represent the chamber of our feelings. Each of these chambers beat for the satisfaction of our four primary desires. We see them in the very first book of the Bible. That’s how foundational they are to our lives. Every choice, thought, and feeling, every investment of time, talent, and treasure is an attempt to satisfy these desires.

The first primary God-given desire is significance, which comes from being created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). The second desire is contentment from being blessed by God to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue (to bring contentment to) the earth (Genesis 1:28). The third desire is control from being empowered by God to rule over the earth (Genesis 1:28). The fourth desire is security from being provided with every seed bearing plant and fruit bearing tree (Genesis 1:29-30). Notice that each desire is from our being, or our identity in the Designer, who is also our Restorer. These desires flow vertically from the heart of God into each one of our spiritual hearts, and they flow horizontally into our relationships with others (Genesis 2:18).

These desires are all good—they’re given by God himself, after all. Our attempts to satisfy them apart from God will lead to a series of foolish and damaging choices.

Order your copy of Restoration Road

Read Chapter One of Restoration Road

Watch Mitch on The 700 Club

Also from CBN.com: Mitch Kruse: Family First

Learn more about Mitch at his website: www.mitchkruse.com

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