Have you ever thought if perfection restoration is possible? Perfect restoration is possible only for replaceable things. But there are not many things around that can find exact replacements. You may find newer models but are not likely to find the same items.
But what about our health? When our body gets hurt, often there is no way to recover or restore to the original conditions. Money and technology cannot restore the opportunities and time we lose due to sickness or disability. Moreover, we cannot even measure psychological damages with monetary value.
When it comes to our hearts and spirits, we do not have the means to measure their damages. Who can estimate the pain of the broken hearts of parents who have lost their child in a car accident? It is an insult even to think that money can compensate.
Now, when damages occur because of somebody’s malice against us, it is no longer a matter of restoration or compensation only. We feel there must be more than restitution. We also wish to incur more damages to the perpetrators so that they may pay for their malice. However, we are not likely to be happy after revenge because revenge does not restore. Our loss will remain.
Forgiveness of sins is possible only for God because his goodness is without end. Moreover, because all sins eventually violate the goodness of God, humans cannot perfectly absolve sins even when they want to forgive. How many of us can say, “I have perfectly forgiven”?
Christ invites us to be united with himself. And he asks us to forgive others. Only in union with the Lord, we may finally forgive others. It is not my humanity that forgives but Christ in me who forgives. But this forgiveness is not painless. On the contrary, it is full of pain. It coincides with the Way of the Cross.
Sinners cannot offer their restitution. Victims cannot take enough compensation from sinners, either. Christ, the sinless and spotless Victim has offered restitution for all sins with his life. Only the Lord can heal our wounded spirits when we are united with him. And we will see the perfect restoration only at our resurrection.
