“Broken is beautiful,” a friend reassured our small group Bible study.
She then explained the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which uses gold to repair broken pottery. By dusting the cracked pieces with powdered gold, this art form draws attention to its brokenness. The highlighted cracks and flaws become the focal points of the pottery.
“Thus, the brokenness creates the beauty,” she concluded.
Like the crack in the Liberty Bell, the lean in the Tower of Pisa, the horns on Michelangelo’s “Moses,” our flaws give us character.
Psalm 34:18 states, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” This reassurance continues in Psalm 147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
The psalmist reminds us of God’s protection even when we are flawed or troubled or crushed in spirit. His healing hands can pick us up, dust us off, and put us back together again—even better than we were before. We just need to trust in His saving power.
God can use our experiences with brokenness to strengthen our resolve, save our spirits, give us empathy for others, and draw us closer to Him.
In his book The Bard and the Bible, Bob Hostetler writes a devotion entitled “God Uses Poor Tools,” where he references the character of Helena in Shakespeare’s play All’s Well That Ends Well. This character proposes that we can find strength in our weakness. In Bob’s words, “[God] seems to prefer cracked pots and broken tools to do His work, which is good news for anyone who hasn’t yet attained perfection.”
This is universal good news, for everyone is a shade shy of perfection.
As the Master Designer, God maintains complete control of His artwork. He is always ready to fill our cracks, remold us, remake us, and improve our value. Even as wounded vessels, He can deliver us from evil, protect our bodies, and beautify our souls.
Broken artwork repaired by the Kintsugi method results in vessels even more beautiful than a piece of flawless ceramic. Likewise, a broken person repaired by the gift of God’s goodness and grace results in a beautiful and unbreakable Masterpiece.
Allow God to bind up your wounds, repair your cracks, and use your weakness to make you strong.
Embrace your brokenness so that others can see God’s beauty within you.
2 Corinthians 12:10; Psalm 34: 18-20
