The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Ps. 51:17)
IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY JAPAN, a style of art originated called kintsugi, or golden joinery. Instead of discarding broken ceramic objects, Japanese artisans mastered a technique to repair them with a lacquer resin sprinkled with powdered gold. A broken cup or bowl that normally would have been tossed became more beautiful and more valuable than before. Some collectors became so enamored by the art they were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the golden seams of kintsugi.
Our psalm for today demonstrates how our master artisan Father in heaven uses golden joineryto put us back together again after we make bad choices. When we break hearts, relationships, and lives with our sin, all seems hopeless until we turn back to God. Written when the prophet Nathan came to David after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, this psalm represents a penitent prayer asking God to cleanse, restore, and use us again.
Only God can take the broken pieces of our hearts and meld them back together so we can help other sinners turn back to Him. Our miracle-working Savior takes the sacrifices of our broken and contrite hearts, infuses us with His golden grace, and makes us more beautiful and more valuable than before.
Sacrifice your brokenness to God and watch Him master His golden artistry.
Susan Browning Schulz is a wife and active mom of three grown children. She lives riverside in northwest Georgia and loves leading her small group.
