Have you ever heard of Kintsugi? It is a Japanese tradition where gold, instead of glue, is used to put broken pieces of pottery together.
When a pottery piece breaks, the broken fragments are joined together using molten pure gold or pure gold powder. At the end of the process, golden streaks are left in places where fragments join.
You may ask, “Why not just throw the piece away or, better still, mend the vessel in such a way that conceals the fault?” The essence of this practice is to save the broken pottery by retaining its value, despite its flaws. Also, the tradition is not focused on concealing or disregarding the broken state of the vessel. If that was the case, glue, mixed with clay, can actually do a better job of sticking the broken pieces together without a visible trace. Instead, this process focuses on revealing the broken state of the vessel as the essential part of its beauty. And that irregular golden streak around the piece is the evidence of the shattering impact it had to endure to have the artistic transformation that came as a result. Had the vessel not broken in the first place, there would have been no need for the golden repair. So, Kintsugi shows the imperfections of the vessel as a significant factor to its beauty. Remember also that pure gold is among the most valuable things in the world today. So, Kingtsugi not only improves the beautiful appearance of a broken piece of pottery, it also significantly increases its worth.
Let’s take a look at Jesus’ life. Being the subject of the prophecies of countless prophets of old, you would think that Jesus would come to the world to live a grand, luxurious, and enviable life as the Son of God. But His physical conditions were no different (and maybe poorer) than the average person of His time. He had no house He could call His own, neither did He have livestock or transport animals to His name. He performed a miracle to pay His taxes, and the donkey He would eventually use for the triumphant entry never belonged to Him. But these were nothing compared to the shattering experiences Jesus would have in His time on earth. Matthew 2:13-15 tells us that Mary and Joseph had to hide Jesus as a child in Egypt so that Herod did not kill Him. Luke 11:53-54 highlights how much the scribes and the Pharisees (people who had front seats in the temple) hated the authority with which Jesus taught the people. They would look for the slightest opportunity to accuse Him by the things He did and taught. The Bible may have written the stories of the frequent clashes between Jesus and the Pharisees, but, in reality, it was a fierce opposition. It is similar to being hated by the leaders in your industry, or having your pastors and leaders in church oppose what you perceive God is leading you to do.
We can also liken what Jesus went through as swimming against the tide and having everything “work against you.” At the time, the Pharisees and the scribes were like the custodians and enforcers of the laws and Jewish traditions, and had some sort of influence over the people. This influence is what they would eventually misuse to make the people request for Jesus to be killed. Jesus suffered terribly in the hands of the Jews and Roman soldiers. They slapped Him, whipped Him, spat on Him, mocked Him, and eventually hung Him on the cross with thieves. In the Jewish culture, dying on the cross was the cruelest punishment an offender could get. It was so dishonoring that people disowned any of their family members who faced such penalties so as not to tarnish the family name. Jesus was brought that low. Still, this was not the peak of the crushing Jesus had to endure. As the only begotten Son of God hung on the cross, He bore the sins of the entire world on Himself, ready to die a terrible death. But God will not endorse sin – even while His own Son bore it. So, Jesus had to be forsaken and separated from the Father because of the sins He bore. He could only describe how horrifying it felt by crying out with a loud voice and then dying.
Now, here is beauty in all of Jesus’ experiences on earth. These things became the basis upon which His authority as the Christ would be anchored, the same way the breaking of the pottery piece in Kintsugi is the starter for its beatification and value enhancement. Each of those experiences would become the golden streaks in His life, as with a repaired vessel. Hebrews 4:15 explains that Jesus has become for us that high priest that was tempted by the same things we are tempted with. He had to face physical hunger, battled with oppositions, and even fought fear in the garden at Gethsemane. All these were so that when He became the Savior, He could be the Savior for all. Philippians 2:6-9 shows us that because Jesus humbled Himself when He went through all the suffering of the cross, and did not seek to stop any of those sufferings, God gave Him a Name that is above all other names. By this name He received, we can receive salvation, healing, blessing, power, and have all our needs met.
So, if you are currently feeling like your life is too broken to be of any good, I pray this brings you hope. Are you dealing with relationship hurt, childhood trauma, abuse, or challenges of any kind? I want you to see that broken area of your life as the piece that will make Kintsugi happen for you, to excavate beauty from ashes and value from insignificance. God does not cause us pain, but as a Master Planner, He will use that pain, heartache, and trial you are going through to birth something beautiful and steadfast in you. On the day of glory, that thing will become a fortitude and the reason for your shining. You may also be feeling that the negative consequences of the actions you took in the past are so bad that they cannot be fixed. But I want you to know that God is the Master Potter, and He can make a beautiful and valuable vessel out of the pieces of your life, no matter how badly broken they are.
Say this prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for healing the areas of my life I felt were too damaged beyond repair to the point that if the enemy had his way, I would have remained permanently shattered. I thank You, Father God, that who or what tried to break me, You were able to take the broken pieces of my life to make something beautiful out of them, and me. I pray that Your love, and the blood of Jesus be the spiritual gold that fills every crack, dent, and hole in my soul and every area of my life. I pray that I will believe and receive what Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) where he said, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Thank You for creating me as the beautiful, one of a kind masterpiece who doesn’t look like what I’ve been through because through Jesus, I have been made brand new in His Name I pray, Amen.
