BROADCASTS.com

b'READ: ISAIAH 61:1-3; 64:6-8; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:6-10\\n\\n\\n\\nHave you ever heard of the Japanese artform called Kintsugi? The word means \\u201cgolden joinery\\u201d or \\u201cgolden repair.\\u201d The art is created when a treasured ceramic, like a clay bowl, is broken. Instead of throwing away the old pieces and making a new ceramic altogether, the artist takes the broken pieces and mends them together by mixing lacquer with powdered metal such as gold. The effect is the same shape as the original beloved ceramic, but with all the cracks now filled in with gold, the cracks become the focus of the clay pot. Repairing the damage in this way creates a stronger and more beautiful object than what existed before.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe artform of Kintsugi can remind us to embrace the beauty found in our flaws and develop resilience through the hard parts of our lives. Greater still, the art of Kintsugi can help us see God\\u2019s great love for His own Creation. The prophet Isaiah describes human beings as clay in God\\u2019s hands (Isaiah 64:8). In His love, God not only gave us life, but sculpted something He thought was beautiful and \\u201cvery good\\u201d (Genesis 1:31). Sadly, sin brought brokenness throughout creation, and in our brokenness we tend to forget how great our beauty is in the eyes of our Lord.\\n\\n\\n\\nI often focus on my imperfections, giving me a low view of myself. It\\u2019s hard not to look at our bodies and notice where we\\u2019re broken or what we think our flaws are. But this is not how God views His children or how He wants us to view ourselves. He wants to restore brokenness. He invites us to acknowledge our pain and receive His compassion and forgiveness. But we don\\u2019t stop there. By grace through faith in Jesus Christ, God is redeeming us, making us stronger and even more glorious than before. Second Corinthians 12:9-10 even says we can delight in our weaknesses because Jesus\\u2019s power \\u201cis made perfect in weakness.\\u201d Remember, when Jesus rose from the dead, He still displayed His wounds from His crucifixion. Jesus\\u2019s body was and is broken for us. His wounds reveal how deeply He loves us and our bodies. Because of His love, we can love every part of our bodies, looking forward to the day Jesus will raise us from the dead and all our broken places will be fully healed and glorified. As the artwork of our Creator, let us use our bodies to bring glory to our great Artist. \\u2022 Peter J. McDonough\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Can you think of a time you viewed an imperfection in your body in a way that made you feel bad about yourself? God takes the same exact moment and says you are beautiful, His Creation He is redeeming. How might God be inviting you to view this imperfection in light of His grace?\\n\\n\\n\\nWe are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8b (NIV)'