My grandparents used to have a white picket fence across the front yard of their house. I loved that picket fence. I remember a few years after Grandpa had passed away that white picket fence began to look a little worse for wear. The paint was peeling and some of the pickets had cracked or were broken due to the natural processes of deterioration.

Then one day my father came to the house with a hammer and a bucket of white paint. Before long that while picket fence looked like it was supposed to look—a bright, cheery adornment for Grandma’s front yard. My Dad repristinated that fence

—he restored it to its original condition!

I know that’s not a commonly used word, but it is a legitimate word. According to Webster’s, to repristinate is “to restore something to its original state or condition.” I believe that one of the roles God has given grandparents is to be repristinators (that’s my word). We have been given the understanding and tools to restore the worse-for-wear culture we helped created back to its original condition according to God’s design. Of course, we can choose to be reposers (my word again)—those who lie around like a bump on a log and do nothing.

Our worldview determines what we perceive as valid and valued. It ultimately move us to be either reprisinators or reposers. Interestingly, history suggests that if at least 10 percent of the members of a society hold an unshakable belief in something, the majority of that society will also embrace that belief. Just holding a strong personal opinion about something is not the same thing as an unshakable belief that influences a society or culture. Unshakable belief is a deep and unalterable conviction embodied in a visible way of doing life. It is so vibrant that it catches the attention of the culture around it and changes it. That’s repristination.

As followers of Christ we hold an unalterable conviction that God is, that He created us for Himself, and that He has paid the ultimate price to restore man to a personal relationship with his Creator and escape the judgment that would otherwise be inescapable. Our unshakable faith in God and truth is the basis for wisdom to understand the times and know what to do. It compels us to compassionately act upon that wisdom in the power of the Holy Spirit to draw others to Christ and His salvation.

Christ commanded us to make disciples worldwide who follow Him with the same unshakable commitment. Making disciples is more than proclaiming the Gospel. If the words we speak are not validated by an authentic demonstration of the transforming, life-giving power of the Gospel by the way we live Life (with a capital ‘L’), the rest of the world will remain unaffected by it. That pretty much describes the impact of a reposer.

Jesus came to testify to the truth. We are to do the same. While defending, proclaiming, and authenticating the Truth exposes the Lie, I am convinced that no amount of reason or carefully crafted persuasion will engage the world and cause it to change. It is the compassionate incarnation of truth by people of unshakable faith that opens the door for the Holy Spirit to convict and give life.

Such unshakable faith is displayed where we live and work in the marketplace, the laboratory, the classroom, the neighborhood, and the home. If we are to be effective agents of change, our lives must display the glory of what should be. Then we become conduits through which the Holy Spirit works to transform and re-make our culture.

Grandparent…Satan is tirelessly working to capture the hearts, minds and souls of your grandchildren. Do you have the courage to be a repristinator, or will you settle for being a reposer? It’s a pretty important question.

So what does unshakable faith look like in practical terms in your situation? Would your grandchildren characterize you as a repristinator or a reposer? What are some repristinating things you do in your family?