Introduction: The Art of Kintsugi

In Japan, there is an ancient art form called Kintsugi. When a beautiful piece of pottery breaks, they don’t throw it away. Instead, they meticulously put the pieces back together using a special lacquer mixed with powdered gold. The result is breathtaking. The cracks are not hidden; they are highlighted in gold, becoming a beautiful and integral part of the object’s history. The pot is not just repaired; it’s made more valuable and more beautiful because it was broken.

The world says that when something is broken, it’s worthless. You throw it out. You replace it. But God, the master artist, sees things differently. He sees a broken person not as something to be discarded, but as an opportunity to create a masterpiece of grace.

So let me ask you: When a person in the church breaks, do we treat them like trash to be thrown out, or like a treasure to be restored with gold?

Devotional

We are now moving into the fruit, the outward mission, of a healthy community. And this is where the rubber meets the road. A victorious community isn’t one where nobody ever messes up. A victorious community is one that knows what to do when someone does.

And the Bible gives us our mission directive right here: restore him. This isn’t a suggestion; it’s a command. When a brother or sister is “caught in any transgression”—when they fall, when they break, when sin gets a foothold—our job is not to shoot our wounded. Our job is not to stand back and gossip. Our job is to move in and begin the process of restoration.

But look at the condition Paul gives us. This is the gut-check moment. We must do it in a “spirit of gentleness.” Why? Because we are all just one step away from being the one who is broken. That’s why he adds, “Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” This isn’t a job for the proud or the self-righteous. This is a job for humble, fellow “jars of clay” who know that they are just as cracked and just as in need of grace as the person they are helping.

This is the fruit of a healthy spiritual family. It’s a community that functions as a hospital for the broken, not a museum for the saints. It’s a place where failure is not the end of the story. It’s a workshop where God, through us, takes the broken pieces of a person’s life and begins to mend them with the gold of His grace, making them stronger and more beautiful than before.