The Uncovering of the Sistine Chapel

In 1980, restorer Gianluigi Colalucci climbed the scaffolding inside the Sistine Chapel and pressed a small solvent-soaked compress against a darkened section of Michelangelo's ceiling. For centuries, candle soot, animal glue from previous "restorations," and layers of grime had dulled the frescoes into muddy shadows. Critics had long assumed Michelangelo painted in muted, somber tones. But when Colalucci lifted that first compress, a shock of vivid rose and electric blue emerged beneath the filth. The original brilliance had been there all along — buried.

The restoration took fourteen years. Each section required painstaking cleaning, careful enough to remove centuries of buildup without damaging a single brushstroke underneath. Some art critics protested, insisting the dark varnish was the "real" Michelangelo. They had grown so accustomed to the grime that they mistook it for the master's intention.

This is precisely what the Prophet Malachi describes. The Lord comes to His temple not to destroy but to purify — "like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap." The process is uncomfortable, even alarming. We may have grown so accustomed to the accumulated soot of our compromises and complacencies that we mistake them for who we really are. But God sees the original design beneath. His refining is not punishment. It is restoration — the patient, loving work of uncovering the vivid image He painted us to be from the very beginning.