All things work together for the good of those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted with gold or silver. In the 15th Century, Japanese Emperor Ashikaga Yoshimasa had broken a beloved tea pot. Instead of discarding it as most of us would do and replace it with a new one, he sent it off to China to be fixed. When he received it back, he did not like the way it had been repaired. So he brought in Japanese craftsmen to repair this beloved tea pot. In the process of this repair, they founded the art of Kintsugi, putting back together the broken pieces of the tea pot with lacquer mixed with dusted gold, making it stronger and more beautiful than it was before. Instead of trying to hide the cracks, they emphasized each one, where every visible line in the pot told a story of its journey for all the world to see.
This ancient art is a beautiful picture of the King of Kintsugi, Jesus, and how His redemptive and restorative power mends our broken pieces and shattered lives, making us stronger and more beautiful in our brokenness than we were before. Jesus is in the business of mending broken people, and that includes me and you.
The Bible does not shy away from revealing all of the brokenness in the people God uses for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom. In fact, it highlights the brokenness, showing the importance of embracing all of the imperfections in our lives. To be sure, we live in a world that highly values flawless perfection, and we do everything within our power to hide our blemishes. Yet, the King of Kintsugi takes our brokenness and makes it beautiful. Jesus does not try to cover up our brokenness. Rather, He celebrates it by putting on display His amazing grace and marvelous mercy, as He continuously mends our breaks, making us stronger, better and more useful than we were before the break.
Both Kintsugi and the life of the Christian have profound parallels. They emphasize the beauty of broken imperfection and the awesome power of redemption and restoration. We need not try to hid our brokenness, but rather, embrace it knowing that all things are working together for our good, including every area of brokenness we experience throughout this life.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 