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Kintsugi is repair work that mends the breakage with lacquer and then dusted with a powdering of gold or silver or platinum. A piece of pottery that is repaired properly with Kintsugi is of more value than the original, unbroken piece of pottery.
God has a process of repairing and mending that is so beautiful. Jesus can take our shattered pieces and make them beautiful again.
Isaiah 61:1 – “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;”
Luke 4 – Jesus read from the Old Testament scriptures and then told the people he had grown up with that “I am the one who is the fulfillment of this prophecy.”
Jesus came to preach to those who were in need. Those who have broken hearts and are crushed. Jesus will bind up their hearts, He will heal them. Jesus came to preach liberty to the captives, to open the prison doors that hold them back.
Matthew 5 – Jesus is coming for those who mourn. Jesus came to give us comfort, to free us from whatever it is that is binding us.
Why is the Lord going to do all of this? What is His purpose for offering us this tremendous opportunity to be put together again, to be mended. God is offering to us this restoration, this healing, this regeneration this new life… so that the world may know that He is the Lord, that He is God!
The person who has the gift and ability to do the work of art putting together the broken plate is the one who receives the credit and the honor for the work he has done. Jesus is the one who gets the glory when He puts us back together again. He really does want to heal and restore us and make something beautiful out of something ugly.
His heart is moved by those who are suffering. He is moved by our tears, by our suffering, by what hurts us.
There was a lot of doubt amongst the Jews about who Jesus was. He had recently been baptized by John, and the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him. Jesus was telling His home town that He was the Messiah, the fulfillment of these prophecies by Isaiah.
Their anger showed up when they wanted to see a miracle, and Jesus said no… He had to leave Nazareth and flee for His life.
When we think of “healing” or “mending” what does this mean? When Jesus called some of His disciples they were mending their nets. What does it mean to “mend their nets?” The word mending means “completely or restore to its original purpose.” In a very material sense they were used to doing this job of mending things… restoring broken things to be useful again.
The Greek word for mending was not only used for “mending nets” it is also used throughout the New Testament.
Luke 6:40 – Everyone who is perfect shall be like his master. Perfect like his master. This word means “put together again.”
1 Corinthians 1:10 – Perfectly joined together… in the same mind and in the same judgement. In the body of Christ we are to be mended together, joined together perfectly.
2 Corinthians 2:11 – Perfect yourselves… This is an ongoing thing, we are God’s workmanship, we are created in Christ Jesus made to be a beautiful representation of God’s ability to restore broken things.
Galatians 1:6 – You spiritual ones restore… it is your responsibility to put together and mend and restore the broken one, to bring back into fellowship with Christ.
1 Thessalonians 3:10 – Paul says about his responsibility, that he is praying for perfection and mending in their faith. We have a responsibility to each other as well when we see someone hurting. We need to take broken people to the heart of the healer.
1 Peter 5:10 – The God of all grace will perfect, and confirm and strengthen and establish you. God sent Jesus to heal broken hearts and lives. Jesus is showing us the heart of God, His desire and longing for us is that we be healed and receive the mending that He can do.
What is the problem with a broken net, or a broken piece of pottery? If its broken it can’t function, it can’t fulfill its purpose. A broken piece of pottery cannot hold water. A broken net cannot hold fish. These things can be mended and restored and to be useful again… Jesus can do that with our broken hearts and broken lives as well. Because the master is involved in this restoration the end result is better than the original! That is what God wants to do with our lives too.
If your life and heart has been broken. If you’ve been hurt and wounded. If you’ve been betrayed and disappointed… Jesus says “come unto me, I will give you rest, and I will mend your broken heart. I will make those cracks something beautiful. I will make you a lovely piece of my workmanship. This is something only I can do, don’t despair, don’t be discouraged. My heart is to mend hearts, it is what I want to do for you!”