In Pieces? … Or Still In Process?
When you’re feeling broken, the Lord can still put you back together.
This content is available in Spanish here.
Who has never felt broken? All of us at some point in our lives, or various, have been so hurt that we feel incomplete. The world hits us, breaks us; and when we come to Christ, we may think that we have nothing to offer him. What could He do with a broken pot?
Broken vessels cannot be used, as they only spill the content they carry inside, the most logical thing to do is throw the pieces in the trash. That’s why many people don’t dare to approach the Lord, why would He want the pieces of our life? But it so happens that most people ignore that God, in addition to being a king, is also an artisan.
The art of kintsukuroi
In Japan, there’s an art that few people practice; the art of kintsukuroi. It is a technique in which broken porcelain utensils can not only be fixed but increase their value for having been broken.
It consists of taking the pieces of porcelain and joining them with a special resin that is then coated with gold powder. When the final piece (the kintsugi) is finished, the pieces appear to have been glued together with liquid gold that hardened, and many things happen after that.
In the first place, the value of the utensil increases considerably due to the gold and the artisan technique used. Secondly, the vessel or plate becomes much stronger because the resin used is very resistant and gives the object great hardness. Finally, the object becomes even more beautiful than it was. Not because of the gold that adorns it, but because of the richness of its story.
In Japanese culture, this broken object becomes valuable for the story it tells. His wounds and defects are not hidden but exhibited as the characteristic that makes him unique and stronger. The marks are proof that this vessel is fragile and imperfect, but it survived the incident and is now stronger for it.
The Lord, an amazing artisan
In the same way, when we come to the Lord despite our condition, He will always receive us with open arms. For instead of the pieces that everyone sees, He can see the finished work. No matter how broken we are, he will always be able to fix us, uniting the pieces of our life with his love. The Bible states in Corinthians:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. — 2 Corinthians 5:17
We should not be afraid of approaching God in our current state, He was planning to fix us anyway. God is not surprised by our condition; He knows that we cannot come to Him in any other state, only destroyed. The book of John tells us this fact:
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. — John 10:10
Jesus knew, and warned his disciples, that in this world we would be at the mercy of our enemy, the devil. He let them know that the enemy would do everything in his power to destroy us, at the same time that he would try to prevent us from knowing God, the only one who could save us.
After living our whole lives at the mercy of the one who wants to destroy us there’s just one way we can present ourselves before God; broken, incomplete, and probably a little dead. But if we come to the master’s workshop, we only need to put ourselves in his hands, because he is even capable of giving us new life.
A diamond in the rough
Don’t be afraid to come before God just as you are, you are just the right material He needs to carry out his work. He can cleanse your soul, put the pieces of your life together with his love, polish you, and make you a valuable masterpiece. Then you will no longer be incomplete, for He will complete you with His Holy Spirit.
You will not be ashamed of your wounds, for they will become a testimony that shines for his Glory. In your weaknesses, He will be strengthened, and your story will be a source of inspiration to others. Then you will become a useful vessel, that He can use for His purposes, with a future full of hope. For even if the world rejected you, in the eyes of the Lord you are just what He was looking for and He will never reject you.
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. — John 6:37
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. — Jeremiah 29:11