10/08/2025
Please take a moment to follow and share our other work at Japan Gospel Project.
In Japan, there’s a centuries-old art called kintsugi, which means “golden joinery.” When a bowl, cup, or plate breaks, a craftsman would carefully repair it—not with a glue meant to hide the damage, but with lacquer mixed with powdered gold. Instead of disguising the cracks, the gold fills them, tracing each fracture line like a work of art.. Due to this process, the piece becomes even more beautiful and valuable than before it was broken.
I thought of this when I was gifted a small mug with a chip in it from my Brother in Tachikawa, Noa Fukushima.
This idea of the mug reflects the Christian life. We live in a world that often hides weakness, scars, and failure. But God works differently. Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” The Lord draws near to the broken—not to toss them aside, but to heal them in a way that tells His story.
Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” We are like fragile clay cups—easily chipped, cracked, or shattered by the blows of life. But in Christ, those very cracks can become the channels through which God’s power shines the brightest.
Think about Peter. He was bold, but he broke—denying Jesus three times. Yet Jesus didn’t discard him. Instead, He restored Peter and used him to preach the gospel powerfully at Pentecost. it makes me think that the crack in Peter’s cup became a golden seam of humility and courage.
The truth is, our cracks and scars tell a story. When God repairs us, His “gold” is His mercy, His forgiveness, and His power. Like kintsugi, the repaired vessel is more beautiful—not because of its perfection, but because of the story the cracks tell.
So if you feel worn down, fractured, or even shattered, remember this: in the hands of the Master Artist, your breaking is not the end of your usefulness. It can be the beginning of a testimony that gives Him glory whenever it is seen. The very places where you thought you were disqualified can become the very places where others see Christ the clearest.
Don’t be ashamed of your cracks. Let them be filled with the gold of God’s grace, and let them tell the story of the One who makes beauty from brokenness.
To God be the Glory,
Justin Evergarden
