Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect,
he would . . . make it into something else.
—Jeremiah 18:4
Kintsugi is the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery. Shattered pieces are glued back together with a secret lacquer mixed with powdered gold, creating a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, piece. Instead of concealing the scars, kintsugi highlights them.
Some Bible characters that shine the brightest had fractured pasts. David, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and Paul come to mind.
One of the most effective Bible class teachers I’ve known had spiritual scars as thick as your thumb from self-inflicted wounds of a profligate past. He connected as a healer of the hurting because he knew what it was to fall, be broken—and be repaired by the gold of grace.
Broken? God is the ultimate kintsugi artisan. You will be beautiful.
God doesn’t trash broken lives.
He repairs them.