God’s Golden Repair
Kintsugi: the Japanese art of repairing with gold to create a perfectly imperfect piece of beauty.
Twelve years ago, we renovated an old delipidated building that would become Lamplighter’s new headquarters.
I remember being amazed at the condition of the floors. Over the past 180 years, the floors had been layered with vinyl, linoleum, vinyl, carpet, vinyl, vinyl again, asbestos tiles, and…long story short, the flooring continued to rise!
What a mess! As we began the process of removing these layers, we finally reached the bottom—beech and oak wood flooring! What a find! But, with 180 years of abuse, they were ruined. The previous owners must have thought it best to hide the dents and scars rather than take the time to restore the wood finish.
As we thought about restoring the floors, a sudden idea illuminated my mind. Rather than sand the wood and restore the floors to their original beauty, I wondered what it would be like to keep the worn marks of history and accentuate them with a special oil.
After weeks of intense restoration, we stood before some of the most beautiful wood flooring I’ve ever seen.
The Japanese implement a similar practice with broken ceramics. Rather than discard a broken vessel, they repair the cracks with genuine gold foil or powdered gold mixed with resins and lacquers derived from trees. The beautiful golden resin creates a stunning appearance. This 15th-century technique is called Kintsugi, or gold repair.
It is through this method the cracked pottery becomes more beautiful and valuable in the end. So it is in the Christian life. Through our imperfections, Christ’s redemption is illuminated! In Hosea 6:1 the prophet writes:
“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”
Life’s scars provide opportunities for what you could call God’s golden repair. Many years ago I was able to observe this process firsthand.
I was a young Christian and way over my head in full-time Christian ministry. It was recommended that I read the book, Ordering Your Private World by Gordon McDonald. The book was exactly what I needed at the time! I enjoyed the way Pastor McDonald communicated and was able to quickly put his teachings into practice.
A few years later I had the privilege of hearing him speak at a conference. “Wow!” I thought to myself, “What an amazing communicator of God’s Word.” I had found a hero; one whom I had longed for in my young pilgrimage.
Fast-forward several years and I am sitting in seminary studying Hebrew and Greek. I suddenly received a damaging blow. Pastor Gordon McDonald had been unfaithful to his wife and left the ministry. I was devastated. Anger welled up within my heart. “That’s it!” I thought to myself. “What a bunch of hypocrites!”
Continue to journey through time with me for a moment. About a decade or so later, I learned that Gordon McDonald authored another book. Seriously? That would be one book I wouldn’t be caught dead reading.
Another decade passes and I’m in Denver Theological Seminary working on my doctorate. I’m excited about the new adventure and eager to soak in everything I learn so I can be better equipped to lead Lamplighter into the future.
I walk into the classroom and sit down in front. To my shock and disbelief, the man standing in front of me is none other than Dr. Gordan McDonald. No way Hosea! I’m out of there. Really? I almost stood up and stormed out of the classroom. What could this unfaithful man possibly teach me?
Everyone was now seated. Dr. McDonald was sitting on the edge of his desk with a coffee cup in hand, looking both tempered and sober-faced. He hadn’t said a word yet, but had written his name and the class title on the whiteboard. I’m sure he could tell that some of us were sitting there with an attitude. He scanned our faces and with a gentle smile spoke the following words,
“I know that there are some of you in this room who are angry with me. I don’t blame you. I know some of you probably will never be able to forgive me. I don’t blame you.” He paused, scanned our faces again, and once more said, “I don’t blame you. I’m very sorry to have let you down." He went on to say that he had hurt many people, sinned against God, and paid a heavy price; but thankfully his Savior paid an even higher price, and he was forgiven.
At this time, there were tears in my eyes. My heart had not softened, no, my heart was breaking! Breaking because God’s Spirit was penetrating through layers of my own hypocrisy; layers of my own legalistic judgment; layers of my own snobbish “righteousness.”
Right before my eyes, I saw one of God’s beautifully refashioned masterpieces. A man whom God had, over time, filled in the scars and cracks with His golden resins of discipline, truth, humility, and time. As I sat there with an open heart, I was able to receive some of that same spiritual resin.
Even as I write this from over a decade of memory, there are tears once more. Thank you Gordon for being my mentor and hero. And please thank your wife for loving Jesus so much that she was able to extend grace and forgiveness that reaches to so many today, especially me.
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
Hebrews 3:14
