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/

Raku Firing

A few weeks ago a dear friend asked me to her home to take part in a night of raku firing. Diane is a potter who loves exploring new techniques and mastering her craft. She goes to great lengths to learn and perfect every aspect, even to the extent of making her own kiln.

Raku is Japanese meaning “enjoyment,” and dates back to the 16th century. Raku pottery involves a glazing and firing process in a kiln with temperatures reaching as high as 1800°F.  The glaze creates a unique bronzed finish in the pottery in the reduction chamber, then a post fire processing draws the oxygen out of the pottery.

Patterns and colors are unpredictable since they are created through this natural process of oxygen removal. We experimented with a number of natural enhancements melting feathers, horse hair and leaves on the pottery while it was still red hot. The items burned off against the surface of the pottery leaving their indelible patterns on the clay.

After the firing is complete, the pottery is dunked in water to "freeze" the patterns. The reason the clay doesn’t crack under the drastic temperature change is that it is specifically designed to withstand thermal shock.

Witnessing the fiery mystery of raku as evening fell in the backyard accentuated the mystique of this ancient art form. Mosquitos came out and nibbled at our elbows and ankles but we kept working, engrossed in the process, unwilling to abandon our creations. The volcanic glow of the kiln, the heat of inhuman temperatures, and the sudden freezing and hissing of the pottery seemed like an alien encounter in the night.

I couldn’t help but think of God and how the breath of his nostrils created the universe. By the power of his word he called galaxies forth and in the end he will also melt this world with a fiery judgment.

As we come before him we are humbled in his presence, reduced as in a great reduction chamber. The Lord melts away the dross, purges, and cleanses. Under his divine touch and the tutelage of his Word, we are forever imprinted.

When the Almighty touches us by the power of his Spirit he leaves an indelible mark on our souls. Every life is uniquely stamped and there are no two pieces alike. This is his purpose and it is magical, beyond our understanding. We are being transformed into his image, prepared for glory! This is the joy of creation. I am fearfully and wonderfully made and God makes all things new!

Though we face hard times and pass through dark trials in the night of our soul, our Creator is not willing to sleep or abandon the work of his hands. He labors to finish what he has begun and will continue faithfully until time has run its course and we are dressed as a bride, complete in him. Thus, being fully prepared, without spot or blemish, we will be presented as a trophy of his grace for all eternity. Glorious!

God says, I will complete the good work I have begun in you until the Day of my appearing. Though night is coming, live as children of the day. Stand fast and be pure, even in times of trial. I am refining you that your faith may be made strong. Persevere and you will receive the crown of life.