by Kelly Moran
for 27 September 1995
Administrators have insisted for nine years that nothing is wrong.
Now they're singing a different tune!
The tongue-in-groove maple stage floor had become warped. After the Frank Sinatra concerts at the end of July, Carnegie Hall was closed to replace the stage floor.
The floor rests on plywood, with a large, resonant space underneath. At least, that's what they thought until they tore the old floor out.
Under the plywood, the empty area was filled with a pile of concrete. One administrator speculated the concrete was added to reinforce the stage while scaffolding was on it during the 1986 renovation and then simply left there in the workers' haste to finish.
Jim Nomikos, the hall's director of operations, was in charge of removing the concrete, which he said was like "an archeological dig."
Nomikos said the floor is now constructed the way it was from Carnegie Hall's opening in 1891 until 1986.
"In my opinion we're not reconstructing the floor. We just restored it," he said. "I think what we have now is a floor that will have some resonance, as opposed to a floor that was dead."
The new floor met its first test last night, September 26. The Philadelphia Orchestra played. Pay attention to the paper for the next few days to hear the critics' verdict.
Imagine taking an old car and restoring it. Putting in the hours (and sinking in the money) to make the car appear as if it just came off the assembly line.
Alternatively, and this might be easier to picture, imagine buying a used car with 100,000 miles and putting on new tires and a new starter. Give it a tune-up and change the oil. Find a good mechanic you trust and keep a toolbox and jumper cables in the trunk at all times.
So, what is the Christian life? Is it a challenge to reconstruct or restore? In our example, reconstruction just makes something work. Restoration re-creates the original beauty of the thing.
Restoration is the Christian's task because of what God has done for us. Paul wrote, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them...." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
The originator of restoration is God, when He restored us to Himself. We were separated from God by an incredible barrier: our own sin. We couldn't cross the barrier, so God sent His Son across to get us.
In theory, restoration is a beautiful idea. In practice, we must be careful that the things we restore are the ones that matter most.
Don't skip this next paragraph. I'll just lay it out here:
The Christian's restoration is about restoring your relationship with God. There is no other reconciliation than a sinner brought home to God.
Maybe someone dumped a load of concrete into your attempts to restore your life, and it's weighing you down dreadfully. What's it doing there? Some well-meaning reconstructionist dumped it there.
Here's a more "concrete" example. Have you ever been told, "There are certain questions you don't ask." Or how about, "We don't need to look at that issue. It was decided long ago."
If so, someone dumped a load of reconstruction into your attempts to restore Jesus to prominence in your life.
God, I open myself to your restoration. Make me yours.
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All Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (unless otherwise noted).
Copyright 1995 by Kelly Moran.