Heart Kintsugi

Years ago, I was introduced to the ancient Japanese art form known as Kintsugi. It is a skill that repairs shattered pottery by infusing golden lacquer in the broken places. Shimmering liquid gold fills the cracks and holds the broken pieces together.

The process creates a one-of-a-kind piece of art by highlighting, rather than hiding, the brokenness. The repaired item is now seen as even more valuable, because there is no other vessel in the world like it.

It makes the broken beautiful again.

We admire this art form when it comes to pottery, but rarely practice it in our lives. We tend to hide our scars. We doubt any good can come from drawing attention to our places of hurt, weakness, or betrayal.

But what if the goal, as in Kintsugi, isn’t to hide our broken places but to redeem them? The Creator is the master artisan, ready to restore us in the very places the enemy tried to break us. As he does, our scars become areas of strength. When the Creator puts the fragments of our lives and hearts back together with his healing light, we’re not just better than we were. We are better than new.

Jesus defined the very reason he came for us in similar language. When asked about his mission, he quoted this verse from Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord, the Eternal, is on me.
    The Lord has appointed me for a special purpose.
He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
    He has sent me to repair broken hearts,
And to declare to those who are held captive and bound in prison,
    “Be free from your imprisonment!” (Isaiah 61:1 VOICE)

Jesus doesn’t expect you to go around broken or somehow fix yourself. He just asks for the pieces of your heart so he can put you back together, better than before.

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