8-3-2026
I’ve never seen it in person, but word on the street is that the Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City is stunningly beautiful and may be his finest work. For four years, between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo lay on his back on a scaffold, creating one of the greatest artistic triumphs in history. This would be a massive undertaking today, but to tackle this over 500 years ago was unheard of. When it was finished, everyone who saw it found themselves with their jaws hanging open in wonder of the beauty of his work.
Unfortunately, the unique and magnificent work of art began to fade over time. Less than a century later, no one could remember what the original frescoes had looked like. The vibrancy of the colors seemed to pale and the nuances of the painting itself seemed to almost blur somewhat as time marched on. One person described it this way: “We see the colors of the Sistine ceiling as if through smoked glass.”
A proposal was made to “clean” and “restore” the ceiling to it’s original glory. There was uncertainty, however, regarding what the process might actually do to the painting itself. In 1981, two art-restorers carefully cleaned a small corner of the painting using a special solution. It was a slow process, and when finished, they invited experts to examine the work. The result was breathtaking. No one had imagined that such vibrant colors lay beneath the centuries of accumulated dust and dirt.
The success of this partial project prompted the approval to restore the entire ceiling, a task that was completed on December 31, 1989. It took twice as long to clean the ceiling as it had taken Michelangelo to paint it. But the result was breathtaking. For the first time in nearly 5 centuries, people were able to view this masterpiece the way it was intended, in all of its color and beauty.
You and I are a lot like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Just when we feel like our work is finished, just when we take a deep breath and let it out, God goes to work restoring the parts of our lives that dust and dirt have dulled. We don’t always appreciate the restoration process, but the end result? WOW!
It may take longer than you expect, but the end result will be the same: Your life will be filled with the vibrant colors that He has planned for you from the very beginning. We read this reminder in the New Testament book of Revelation:
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5a, NIV)
God is making everything new………including me and you. Embrace the process because the end result is out of this world!