God never throws away the broken pieces of our lives; He redeems all of them.

Not too long ago, I dropped one of my favorite coffee mugs and broke it into several pieces. I was quite frustrated because it happened to be a sentimental heirloom to me—one that I purchased on our honeymoon twenty years ago. I swept up the shards in frustration and tried to piece the cup back together. That disappointment led me to a discovery into the 500­year­old Japanese art of kintsugi.

In Japan, rather than tossing broken pieces of ceramics in the trash, craftsmen often practice the art of kintsugi, or “golden joinery,” which is a method of taking broken pieces and restoring them with a lacquer that is mixed with gold, silver, or platinum.

The story of kintsugi is said to have begun in the 15th century when Japanese military commander Ashikaga Yoshimasa broke one of his beloved Chinese tea bowls and, disappointed with the shoddy repair job it was treated to, urged Japanese craftsmen to come up with a more pleasing method of repair. Thus the art of kintsugi was born. Collectors soon became so enamored with the new art that some were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the gold seams of kintsugi.

As an art, kintsugi will make a mended vessel look more aesthetic and become more valued than it was before it was fractured. As a philosophy, kintsugi treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, something of a redemptive beauty, rather than something to disguise, cover up, or replace altogether. It has similarities to the Japanese philosophy of wabi­sabi, an aesthetic worldview that sees beauty in the flawed, the damaged, or the imperfect. The idea behind the technique of kintsugi is to recognize the entire history of the object, with all of its cracks and flaws, and to visibly incorporate the repaired fissures into the new piece. It beautifies the breakage and treats it as an important part of the object’s history, thus valuing the fractures instead of disguising them or glossing over them. The process typically results in something far more beautiful and elegant than the original.

To throw the broken pot away is to destroy its unique story. To repair it the kintsugi way is to continue its tale of adventure, triumph, and redemptive beauty.

The brokenness of our past is an integral part of our unique story and God’s gloriously redemptive beauty. Tweet this

The world is full of people with broken hearts, broken spirits, and broken relationships. We see damaged goods all around us. And we see it in ourselves when we are courageous enough to go there.

In fear of rejection, we’d rather cover up the damaged parts of our lives and work harder at putting our best pieces out front for others to see. We feel ashamed of our weaknesses and fear that if people really knew us they wouldn’t have anything to do with us. This is because we are keenly aware that we live in a culture that rejects broken things too easily rather than one that embraces the value of damaged goods.

Think about some of the cracks and fractures in the lives of the men and women God used throughout the Bible: Moses had a speech problem. Jonah was self-absorbed. David was an adulterer and a murderer. Samson was a womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute. The Samaritan woman had a whole string of divorces. Zacchaeus had engaged in extortion. Peter was hotheaded, impulsive, and temperamental. Naomi was a bitter widow. Elijah was suicidal. Leah wasn’t attractive enough. Joseph was abused and abandoned. Jacob was a liar and a schemer. Martha worried about everything. Timothy had an ulcer and Noah got drunk.

What’s significant is that none of these things defined these people. What defined them was their relationship with God. But what I love about the Bible is that it doesn’t omit their weaknesses and their failures when it describes their victories. Just like in the art of kintsugi, the broken pieces weren’t something to be thrown out, they were a part of the whole redemptive story—one that God gracefully wrote despite their flawed personalities, their broken humanity, and their obvious weaknesses.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul was struggling with an antagonizing “thorn” in his life. We’re not sure exactly what it was but we do know that it bothered him so much that he pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away. But the only response he got was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That response caused Paul to become good with the weaknesses in his life because he realized that Christ would be glorified in all of them. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)

There is truly a beauty waiting to be discovered when we begin to realize that God is using everything in our lives, including our brokenness, our pain, our failures, our weaknesses, our fractured relationships, our shattered dreams, our disappointments, and our cracked personalities, to bring about a very, very, beautifully redemptive story. He assuredly is making all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 ESV)

Remember that as you take time to abide in Him today.

God never throws away the broken pieces of our lives; He redeems all of them.

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post The Japanese Art of Kintsugi appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

It was the 1993 NBA Finals and I was an avid Michael Jordan fan. The Chicago Bulls were up three games to two against the Phoenix Suns with Game 6 being a closeout game at America West Arena in Phoenix. I had watched every game in the series but missed Game 6 due to a preaching engagement that night. After the church service, I had a three-hour drive home and I was eager to find out if the Bulls had won the game. Back then we didn’t have smart phones and ESPN apps but I did have an awesome grandmother. She not only watched the game for me, but she taped the entire game on VHS so that I could watch it later. Here’s where some of my younger readers may need to do a Wikipedia search to find out what a VHS tape is!

That night, when I got home, Granny told me all about the game. She assured me the Bulls had won the championship and even gave me details on how John Paxson hit the title winning three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left on the clock. Later, when I went back and watched the tape for myself, I watched the entire game differently than I would’ve had it been live. There were times in the fourth quarter that should’ve been anxious moments for me because it seemed the Suns had taken control of the game. But I already knew the outcome of the game. I knew the final score—and knowing how it ended changed the way I watched the game.

It is no news flash that we are living in troubled times. And the speed in which fear can travel is unprecedented. A hundred years ago, a tragedy could take place on the other side of the world and you might not hear about it for days, if not weeks. Yet today we can witness terrorist acts, unspeakable atrocities, and vicious acts of violence happening all over the world in real time from the very palms of our hands. It’s hard to live with peace in such a stressful world when our mobile devices keep us engaged to the reality of evil and the worst of humanity on a moment’s notice.

Everywhere we look there is human suffering and deplorable injustices. And on some days, if not most, it seems like the forces of darkness have taken control of the game. How can we not be anxious? How can we not give in to fear?

We have to remember that we’ve already been given assurance as to the final outcome of this series of hardships called life. For those of us who believe and trust in God’s Word, we know what the final scoreboard will read. We know who wins in the end. And the more we can reorient our days around those truths that God has promised us, the more peace we will experience in this journey.

Job was a man who experienced unimaginable suffering. In the Old Testament book of the Bible that bears his name, we see a man who God allows to suffer directly at the hand of Satan. Job absorbs the worst of human suffering and yet remains faithful to God as one who was able to see the very outcome of his life: “For I know that my Redeemer lives,” he declares. “And at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.” (Job 19:25-26 ESV)

Perhaps as Job considers that future generations might indeed read his words, it stirs him to a triumphant proclamation of faith. There is certainty in his statement. This wasn’t just something he guessed at, it was something he knew. Job was convinced that one day he would ultimately see God in the flesh and that the great Redeemer of life would indeed make all things GOOD.

God is still in control, beloved. And He is still on His throne. Jesus assured His followers that they could live with peace in a world rife with crisis and paralyzed by fear. He said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV)

John wrote: “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4 ESV)

We see in Job, Jesus, and John, imagery of strength for troubled times. They all give us snapshots of what it looks like to live like we know the outcome of life. Our Redeemer lives. Our God is triumphant. Evil will be defeated. The pain is temporary and the suffering is transient. Beauty will rise from these ashes. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, you can face tomorrow. We know who holds the future.

Proverbs 23:18 is one of those passages I love to read in the old King James English: “For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.”

Take courage in that as you abide in Him today.

When you know that your Redeemer lives, you approach life differently and experience a wondrous peace even in troubled times.

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post Knowing How It Ends: I Know My Redeemer Lives appeared first on Jimmy Larche.