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Have you ever heard of the process called Kintsugi or Kintsukuroi by the Japanese? Come along with me on a much bigger discovery of how God is intricately involved in the process of repairing us after we've suffered some damage from and by the world through choices we have made, or circumstances that may have been out of our control.
Golden joinery or golden repair is the centuries old art (circa late 15th) by the Japanese of fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold. The result is a unique appearance of beautiful seams of gold highlighting the cracks in the ceramic ware which glint in the light. They believe that the container is now more beautiful after suffering damage as it has a history and something to show for all the wear and tear or times of service. Kintsugi emphasizes the fractures to beautify the faults instead of hiding or disguising them. This confirms the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi — seeing beauty in the flawed or imperfect. Mottainai, the Japanese feeling to express regret when something is wasted or thrown away is also relevant along with “mushin” — the acceptance of change.
Fast forward to modern day 21st Century times where the world repeatedly tells us to cover our faults, with concepts that promote pride, ego, more confidence than is healthy leading some to arrogance and entitlement...the “me first” mindset in order to acquire the “survival of the fittest” mentality. We know that this is woefully incorrect conformity and it should be the other way around leading to the give way, the right way, which is God’s way. This is what we seek and desire, the transformation of our hearts and minds. Scriptural references which come to mind here include Philippians 2:3 and Romans 12: 2 and 10.
Our most loving Father who has done everything for us and cares so deeply about all of His children is our Master Potter. We are the clay as scripture says in Isaiah 64:8. He fashions and moulds us bit by bit, day by day, into vessels which will be completed under His perfect skill in order to become useful and beautiful servants ready for His Kingdom (Philippians 1:6). God desires all of humanity to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). It may not be the easiest thing to be fashioned and moulded especially while going through tests and trials, but we know it will all be worth it so we keep on keeping on. Diligence with persistence is crucially important while developing righteous character by staying on course.
This life can be a long, arduous journey full of mistakes especially if we do not line up our choices according to our instruction manual, the Holy Bible. Many of us have lived most of our lives in the world pre-conversion and come with plenty of baggage, pain and suffering based on worldly living. This type of living can be so destructive, is it any wonder that people out there want to end their lives? That is where our example is incredibly important. Now that we have been called out of the world by God we need to live righteously daily by resisting and overcoming all sorts of attitudes and influences from the world around us.
Instead of attempting to cover up our faults (think Adam and Eve, King Saul, Ananias and Sapphira) we should be going to God in humble, reverent prayer seeking His input as to where we are needing help in having our faults mercifully exposed to us so that we can learn, repent, and change. King David is a powerful example to draw from in Psalm 19:10-14 and Psalm 139.
What type of vessel you will be depends on obedience
No matter how damaged you are, have been, or will be from external forces, you have the ability to change. However you cannot do it by yourself. You need the most powerful force in the universe to be involved — God. He can do anything (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, Job 42:1-2). If anyone had adversity and lost almost everything in his life, it was Job. Reading the book of Job would be a great study to understand how God can help with restoration.
You may be broken to the point of wanting to run away or hide from others, move to a remote place high up in the mountains or far away, but no matter where you go God is already there, waiting for you. He sees all and knows all (Hebrews 4:13). He knows if you feel shattered or splintered in many pieces, your heart pierced with pain, your brain incapable of accepting the reality you face or whatever it is you are experiencing, Jesus Christ has already been there for us. Romans 5:8 gives us insight into the supreme sacrifice Jesus made for us. Deeply meditate on these words while in prayer to God and you will receive greater clarity and realise you are not alone. The thing is you are going through tough times in order to be ready to help others in the future. Philippians 1:29 explains “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake”.
Since my baptism nearly 12 years ago, I reflect at various times and know God has healed me of many things to do with behaviours, speech, thoughts, and bad habits. However there was one area which I felt shattered about and needed healing for, and so I recently asked God for a spiritual Feast gift...the gift of full restoration of a relationship that had been affected 3 years ago through saying things I should not have said. Even if the truth is said about someone we are to refer to Proverbs 11:13 and 17:9 to draw from God’s wisdom. We may have good intentions but that may not be enough. No matter how much another human being may hurt us, especially if they are part of God’s elect, we must show agape love by loving them even despite their failings or shortcomings. We are all human with carnal human nature and therefore we need to be lovingly patient with our brethren (Galatians 6:10).
God graciously granted me restoration of this fractured relationship and the example I saw from this individual spoke volumes. There were no words of justification uttered but the actions were there — continually evidenced each and every day. This was most humbling to me and I needed this lesson in order to grow spiritually. Sometimes we cannot see the forest for the trees because we look at so much detail which can be distracting thereby precluding us from seeing the big picture. Even when so many details seemed to add up to a certain conclusion, I learned that my discernment had been wrong and influenced by others. It was a real revelation to me, and thankfully God helped me to remove my hard heartedness to make way for humble meekness, forgiveness and change. The loving words of Christ echo in my ears…”Go and sin no more” (John 8:11-12, John 5:14).
Could there be someone out there whom you have not forgiven for whatever it is that occurred? There is no time like the present to ask God for help to heal you and all concerned so that full restoration can occur. If God healed my relationship, He can certainly heal yours, so that members of the body of Christ can all be working together as one (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). This would please our Father and give deeper meaning to the period of introspection and self examination leading up to the next Passover. Let the healing begin now so that there is ample time for all the pieces to be put back together again. We will probably not be entirely the same again as before any offences occurred because we will have been through a process likened to that in the above example of golden joinery or golden repair, with God overseeing all to ensure we gleam and shine. Therefore so let your light shine forth for all to see, to glorify God (Matthew 6:15).