Kintsugi: Perfectly Imperfect Beauty

I love pottery. I especially love watching it in the formation stages, with all the dizzying details of the process. From the sloppy wheel, the potter’s muddy hands working inside and out of the lump of clay, the tools, the glazes, and the kiln… it fascinates as much as it enlightens my heart about my Maker. 

There is great God-given wisdom wrapped up in the work of the clay!

He is chief designer;  we are the work of his hands.

How foolish to think that we know better than the Lord, or have sufficient wisdom to decide our path or guide our lives. He is Sovereign. He is a good Father and completely trustworthy.

Isaiah 64:8 says, God is the potter and we are the clay.

Romans 9:20-21 adds that we cannot argue with our maker.

In other words, He knows what He’s doing.   

Learning about some of the ancient art of ceramics around the world has opened my eyes to some of the many ways God shapes us and makes his mark in our lives.

RAKU: ancient firing and use of common elements

For instance, years ago I wrote about the fascinating work of raku, employing such simple elements as horse hair and maple leaves to burn luminescent patterns into the clay. Every piece is one-of-a-kind and the unique markings on the finished pieces look like they are still on fire![1]

In the same way, we don’t know what God will use but we can be assured that He can use every simple element of my life to shape and transform me for his glory. We can be forever imprinted and aglow with the presence of our Creator if we allow Him to have his way in us.                                    

Even when we get broken or it seems like all is lost.

KINTSUGI: the art of redemption

This week, I learned about the ancient Japanese pottery called kintsugi. The thing that especially caught my attention is the use of broken pieces of pottery. It is a process of redemption unlike any other.

Kintsugi is defined as “the Japanese art of repairing with gold to create a perfectly imperfect piece of beauty.”  

Don’t you love that?

In other words, that which breaks and would otherwise be cast away as unusable, is lovingly repaired instead. And it isn’t just scraped together and sloppily glued back into shape with superglue. It is delicately laced together with the most costly substance on earth:  gold!

Increased value

In the very same way, by God’s redeeming work of grace in us, paid for by the blood of his only begotten Son Jesus, we are made even more beautiful and valuable than before!  

We were bought at such a great price that nothing else could surpass or compare to it, and we therefore become the most precious and privileged of all people on the planet: the blood-bought children of God.

This is why Peter, the down-to-earth fisherman, marveled, ^“…you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood… the priceless blood of Christ.”  
1 Peter 1:18-19  

And John the beloved disciple who leaned his head on Jesus at the Last Supper, exclaimed in wonder, “Behold, how great is the love the Father lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (I John 3:1)

He brings beauty out of the ashes

“Kintsugi is the essence of what is poetic about Japanese culture, turning the accidents and misfortunes that life brings into expressions of transcendent beauty.”[2]

Yes! I can attest to this personally, that God uses all the broken bits and pieces in our lives, and amplifies his purposes in us despite, and especially, through hard times. Through tragedies, hurricanes, diseases or fire, God specializes in taking things thought hopeless and impossible, and doing marvelous things!

When I see words like perfectly imperfect, something in me smiles. This is for everyone. No matter who you are, what you’ve done, or what’s going on, God can bring order out of chaos, and beauty from ashes. 

Go for the gold…

Isn’t it amazing? We, who are so full of stubborness and rebellion, who have spent so much of our time on earth running from the Lord and resisting Him, we, who are so broken, are given the privilege of renewal. 

The Master Potter can salvage broken lives from the rubble with the golden threads of unconditional forgiveness and undeserved grace. 

He makes all things new! 

Everything is enhanced and beautified in His gentle gifted hands. 

…if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings new life]. 2 Cor 5:17

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[1] You can read more in the article titled, “Raku Firing,” in October, 2009.

[2] To learn more about the art of kintsugi you can watch this video.

https://www.facebook.com/weloveasianfoodz/videos/1979699748973230/

Why God? What is Happening in the World?

On Oct 4, 2017, at 4:20 PM I received this question in my mailbox…

Why does the merciful god you profess to believe in allow so much misery to exist in the world?  Makes no sense!

Tom

Sent from my iPhone

On October 5, 2017 I drafted this response…

Hi Tom,

So you ask a very deep and universal question at a time like this. We don’t ask it when things are going well.  However, when evil rears its ugly head, and we see ISIS and Talibans terrorizing, human trafficking lords enslaving children, 65 million refugees roaming the world looking for a safe place to sleep, and the whole earth being ravaged by fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and the rising threat of nuclear war…  THIS is a very good time to think about God and to ask what He is doing on planet earth!  

And that, I believe, is exactly what God planned from ages past... That men would seek him.    This is the short answer. (Acts 17:24-28)  

Let me share with you what I have learned through 44 years of study, prayer and personal experience with Yahweh the Lord in my life…

Yes, I believe without wavering that God is merciful, even to terrorists and sinners including me, and you. I am a recipient of that mercy, grateful that God gave me time to come to my senses. 

God is extremely patient. He perseveres in mercy as any good parent does when his child strays and does foolish or harmful things. He continues to love us, hoping to win the heart.

God’s long-suffering is intended to bring us to repentance, which simply means a change of mind, because it’s definitely not his will that anyone die without forgiveness. This breaks his heart.

God loves everyone unconditionally, being completely impartial and ready to receive any who come to him with wide open nail pierced arms!  If only we could grasp how great and wide and deep is the love of God! But for those who continue in their resistance and disobedience to his eternal laws (of love), there will be severe consequences. 

Look up these verses if you want to see the Biblical perspective on our current events and what God is doing, as well as what God wants from us:

           

·       Will anyone escape judgment? Is God’s tolerance of rampant sin fulfilling a purpose?

                  Read Romans 2:1-8

·       What is happening and what will it be like at the end on planet earth? (Though written 800 yrs apart, both of these sample chapters reveal the same story!)

                  Read Isaiah 24 and Matthew 24

·      
     Why is God taking so long? How will all this end?

                  Read 2 Peter 3:3-15

·       What is the true goal of God’s heart? What does he want us to learn?

                  Read Ephesians 3:14-19

                  Read Romans 8:38-39  

·      Is it difficult to enter into authentic relationship with the Lord?

                  Read Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus called out, "Come to me! Talk to me. Let’s do this life together. You have to step into a relationship of trust just like working partners who are bound and committed to each other in a yoke. I love you and I want to ease your burdens and show you the way. It's easy. I will give you rest for your soul forever."

                 

Judgment is imminent for all mankind. Where can I turn?

Based on these and thousands of other scriptures, Jesus came to embody the Godhead and give voice to his desire with an invitation to all mankind and for all time!  

It has been consistently revealed that the world is failing and will come under judgment. Everyone will have to stand and give account for what is done in these bodies. HOWEVER, the good news is that Christ Jesus paid the penalty for us and offers full amnesty for any who receive his forgiveness.

                                    Read Hebrews 9:27-28

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

           

It is so counter-intuitive and yet incredibly heart-warming to be invited to return to the Father like a Prodigal child. Having tried life in self-reliance, rebellion, pride and every other wayward thing, He is still there. In fact, you come to find out, He was there all along like the footprints in the sand, carrying you in spite of yourself.

I’m not sure where you are in your spiritual journey, but I would encourage you to ask HIM personally to reveal Himself to you if you haven’t already done that. You know you are in good company when you ask that.

Not Me, Lord, I’m not Good Enough!

A great example that has been preserved for our benefit dates all the way back to 1300 BC when God showed up in a miraculous way, proclaiming his Name and revealing his true character to a man named Moses. (You can read it in Exodus 33:12-34:8.) I love these stories that put a human face on the bigger story. 

Don’t gloss over the words lightly. Imagine yourself in his shoes and think about the awesome Almighty One speaking to a run-away. Then, realize that God never changes and He still wants to speak to each one of us today! 

Don’t be fooled. You might say, “Well, that was Moses. I’m nothing special that God should care about me.” But Moses was no one special. Granted, he was raised in posh surroundings, but he was born a slave. 

He later became a murderer (so great was his anger at the injustices he witnessed all around him), then a run-away, a refugee, and a lowly shepherd in the backside of the desert for 40 years. He was forgotten--not in a position of influence, surrounded by goats!

Truth is, Moses thought himself unusable, beyond help, and he was cowardly and terribly reluctant about being enlisted in God’s service despite the miraculous way God showed up to have a conversation with him! (You can read about it in Exodus 3 and 4.) He had a long list of excuses about his limited abilities and he begged God to choose someone else! 

So here we are today.  Is God still on the throne?

Yes! You might feel angry with the injustices, frustrated with the politics, and anxious watching the world erupt in wave after wave of crisis every day on the morning news. But be assured, God is a master craftsman who knows how to weave every circumstance into a tapestry laced with eternal threads of golden hope. He is calling out a people to Himself to be with him forever.

Can I trust His Word?

God's Word gives ample evidence of his ability to bring life out of the ashes of our despair and these messes that surround us.  No matter what you’ve done or are going through, no matter how awful and irredeemable the world seems to be, it is all coming to the very place God said it would through his prophets so many centuries ago!  Creator of the universe who calls each star by name isn't finished yet. And He promises a new heaven and a new earth. 

I hope you will not disregard the greatness of this story and the absolute accuracy of the infallible Word of God.  Though the devil has tried to destroy, distort and diminish the message for centuries, GOD is trustworthy!  HE is good. His plans are beautiful, eternal and free to those who receive his gifts by faith. 

The problem is us. It's mankind that continues living recklessly and committing such horrendous evil, the senseless shootings, merciless chemical warfare, and even the greedy-for-world-dominance nuclear explosions that may be setting off the sudden frequency of natural disasters. We already know we will not survive it. Now it's time to think in terms of the BIG PICTURE. We need to understand in terms of eternity to answer your question.  

God knows what He's doing and He will make it right!  (The devil himself will also pay his dues at the proper time.) You can read all about these things plainly in God’s revelation. Try the book of Revelation if you're interested in what's coming, in greater detail than you will ever get on CNN, even though it was written 2000 years ago. 

Isaiah wrote 2800 years ago that the earth will totter like a drunken man down the street before the end, and long before El Nino was talked about! Jesus said it is like the birth pangs of a woman in travail, the contractions coming at increasing intervals and duration! The sun and moon will do odd things and the islands will be destroyed.

Everything we see happening, like the frequency of hurricanes, comes as a warning signal. Time is getting short and God wants us to stop putting our trust in governments or bank accounts, in NASA, medicine, academia, or any other human efforts to save us. It is time to seek an eternal security and to pay attention to Him. 

When the ship is sinking, we need to look for a life boat. Jesus said with absolute clarity, "I am the way, the truth and the LIFE."  John 14:6

It's time to reach out and grab a hold of these hands-- the same ones that were nailed to a cross in your place. 


Thank you for writing Tom. I sincerely hope you will continue to ask the hard questions. Mostly, I hope you will ask the Lord Himself. Knowing God is more valuable than anything this world can offer and finding him is the only answer to these perils we face. 

May God do wonders in your life, open your eyes, and give you his peace, just as he promised. (John 14:27) 

Karen