“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NKJV)
Have you ever purposefully bought something you knew was defective? I never thought I’d find myself doing that, but that’s what happened a few days ago. And unexpectedly, there was Jesus wonderfully right in the middle of my conversation with the cashier about my improbable purchase.
If you read my last post, “Humilability,” then you already know I’ve had the Japanese art form known as Kintsugi on my mind. So much so that I decided I wanted to try my hand at it. I was in the process of buying something at the last minute for my art-venture when a “refreshing summer rain” moment of understanding in the checkout lane occurred.
Let me refresh your mind about Kintsugi before moving on with this story.
Kintsugi is a Japanese art form that takes shattered pottery and makes it whole by mending the broken pieces together with glue typically containing silver, gold, or platinum. Upon completion, the revitalized object becomes more valuable and desirable than it was initially. Those who follow this style of art delight in the object’s history as revealed by the repaired joints. In other words, the rejuvenated vessel tells a story of hope through its rebirth that is cause for much celebration.
Returning to the story, I had already bought everything I thought I needed for my project but still had one last stop to make for my wife before heading home. She had asked me to buy a clay pot, so I stopped by the local gardening center knowing they would have a good selection. While looking for just the right clay pot for her, I noticed a chipped and cracked one. As soon as I did, a light bulb immediately went off in my head, and I realized it’d be a great addition to my collection of Kintsugi project material. Why smash up something in perfect shape when I could break up something that was already flawed? So, I happily picked up the broken pot along with a good one for my wife and headed to the checkout lane.
After a short wait in line, I placed the two pots I wished to purchase on the counter. As the cashier scanned the items, she paused over the broken one and looked up at me with a questioning expression on her face.
Cashier: “Did you know this pot is broken?”
Me: “Yes.”
Cashier: “And you still want it?”
Me: “Yes, I have plans for it.”
No sooner had those words been said when a spiritual sonic boom stirred my soul, recrystallizing the reality of a precious gift I far too often fail to acknowledge and cherish rightly. Indeed, just as I had plans for the broken pot, how much more so does Jesus have plans for broken me?
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)
There is a huge difference, of course, in the method of payment for these items. Jesus purchased me with His life, while all I did was hand over a few dollars for the flowerpot. He gave all, I gave little.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13 (NKJV)
Before I stepped into the picture, the trash heap was that defective clay pot’s only future where it would join countless other items also considered worthless and of no use. However, the funny thing now is it sits next to me on my bookshelf in plain sight as a treasured reminder of where I’d be right now without Jesus. There now was no way I was going to bust it up as I had initially planned after being gifted with such a beautiful flash of insight. God has such a wholly (holy!) excellent way of turning my thoughts and plans upside down, you know?
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)
How did this broken pot land in a position of honor in my office instead of lost in a landfill? Simply put, I had plans for it where no one else did and was then willing and able to do something about it. That is the sole reason this little clay pot has a new home beside me.
“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (NKJV)
As a believer, the soul (yes, that’s purposeful spelling on my part) reason I now have an eternal future overflowing with hope is that Jesus saw my need and was willing and able to do something about it.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 (NKJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;’” Luke 4:18 (NKJV)
He put my brokenness, my chips, if you will, on His shoulders at great cost to Himself. And He’s done the same for you.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)
What are the Lord’s plans for you, my brother and sister in Christ, and for me? He has prepared a place of honor for us with Him.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:3 (NKJV)
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2 (NKJV)
But there’s more, so much more. It’s beyond astonishing when you think about it!
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29 (NKJV)
Have you sincerely thanked God today for His active presence in your life, for the priceless gift of rebirth out of brokenness He has bestowed upon you through His Son, our Savior, Jesus?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Come to the Table by Sidewalk Prophets from the album “Something Different.”
ONE's upon my time 